Battlefield Podcast

S03E07 – Bulletproof Face Unlocked

jopeek — Mon, 07 May 2012 03:42:46 +0000

Yes, we broke the rules and released this episode only one week after the previous episode. But we have good reason! We’re proud to feature three of the team behind the Battlefield Friends videos on YouTube. In our twenty-plus minute interview we discuss their inspiration behind the videos, the story behind the noob, and their plans for the future. We also want to remind you of our Dog Tag Hunt contest which is still ongoing and you still have a chance to win a Subway Zoom t-shirt from the DICE store! We will be taking next weekend off due to Mother’s Day. Please excuse the harsh transition after the interview into the middle of our tip of the episode… we had some technical issues.

S03E06 – Dartfield 3

jopeek — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 04:46:33 +0000

Episode 6 is all about three things: Our new website, our Dog Tag Hunt contest where you can win a BF3 Subway Zoom T-shirt from the DICE store, and our interview with Nexus talking about competitive gaming in Battlefield 3. We also discuss the latest issues to hit our beloved battlefield (darts anyone?), the list of new weapons in Close Quarters, and the gameplay trailer for Donya’s Fortress. Did we mention that there’s two t-shirts up for grabs? All you have to do is knife us…

Various Donya Fortress Screenshots

News — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 12:44:00 +0000

Donya Fortress, the second map for the Close Quarters DLC was revealed yesterday. A map that focuses on villa/courtyard style combat, with a bit of underground action thrown in. The trailer presented featured the “Conquest Domination” game mode—somewhat similar to conquest. Today, we have some various screen shots of this new Battlefield 3 map:

Battlefield 3 – A Game of Choice

News — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 22:03:00 +0000

Battlefield 2 was one of the first games to offer unlocks and ranks to players in-game, this style has continued on into other games as well. And continuing in that fashion was Battlefield 3, if you’re a frequent player of BF3 then you probably have many unlocks already, but what are the setups for your gameplay style?

In the most recent “Inside DICE”, Alan Kertz (core gameplay designer) discusses what it takes to keep BF3 balanced. Kertz also covers how the most recent patch has changed gameplay, while retaining balance. Are you a close quarters style gamer, run and gun, or a recon player? Check below for tips on what kit modifications will help you the most.

The most important part of Battlefield 3′s gameplay design is/was maintaining balance between players. Gamers may think that balance is a simple issue and that there’s no real need for it, but balance has been a critical component of the series. There is no silver bullet in any of the series’ games, everyone can be taken down. BF3 and it’s predecessors have utilized a rock, paper, scissors method of balancing, this is evident in the BF1942 cover (the one below is my GoTY edition):

Click for massive version

Some fans of the series think that the “Vehicle Disabled” bonus is some sort of realism induced point bonus to garner CoD fans when in fact it’s a critical balance measure. BF3 may have large landmass maps, but the simple truth is, is that the gameplay takes place in extremely tight areas, and this is a problem on vehicle maps (Caspian Border for example). If a tank could move at full speed with 1% health, then tanks, APC’s, etc. could quickly move from base to base while destroying the enemy. The normal approach to this in past games would be to simply spawn in at the same or different base with C4 or and AT rocket. The bases in BF3 are simply too small and too close together, players can easily be taken out by the vehicles. To help combat the situation, one well placed Javelin or RPG can drop a tank in health, rendering it near immobile—an effective method of balancing.

But how can you attempt to tilt the balance scheme in your favor while not destroying gameplay? Weapon customization is the answer if you’re on foot. Looking to take on all enemies? Equip a flash suppressor and foregrip, want to take out enemies from afar? Equip a heavy barrel and bipod. Check out the useful table below to help you optimize your Battlefield 3 experience:

Donya Fortress

News — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 12:48:00 +0000

Ziba Tower was the first map for the up and coming Close Quarters DLC to be previewed, today we now have a trailer for Donya Fortress. This map appears to be set in a villa setting, players will engage one another in tunnels, a court yard, and of course hallways. The HD destruction really shines with dust raining from the ceiling and papers flying about.

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Our second gameplay trailer from the upcoming expansion pack Battlefield 3™: Close Quarters showcases the map Donya Fortress in all its destructive glory. You can also see the new game mode Conquest Domination in action, being a mix of the tactical classic Conquest mode and the instant action gameplay featured on these tight maps.

The trailer shows off the new Conquest Domination mode and another new weapon, the JNG-90:

So what’s your opinion on Donya Fortress and Battlefield 3: Close Quarters?

Run Battlefield 3 With Steam In-Game Menu

News — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 01:52:00 +0000

If you’re an active gamer on the PC, chances are that you have Steam installed and probably have a couple Steam games. One game you don’t have on Steam is Battlefield 3, which is a bit sad considering how smooth Steam’s in-game menu really is. Origin does offer a few of the features such as a web-browser, but it fails to offer a light weight menu and a screen shots gallery. Below is a guide to enable Steam’s in-game menu in BF3.

(Prior to starting, you should quit Origin by right clicking the icon in the system tray and selecting “Exit.”)

In your games library (Steam), select “Add A Game” from the bottom left of the window.
Select “Origin” and “Add Selected Programs”

If you’d like, you can rename “Origin” to a name of your liking by right-clicking Origin and clicking “Properties.”
Launch Origin through Steam, and under settings (gear icon), go to the in-game menu and uncheck the checkbox.
Join a server through Battlelog as usual and enjoy Battlefield 3 with the Steam in-game overlay!

Awesome Fan-Made Wallpaper

News — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 21:35:00 +0000

If you’re still using a default BF3 wallpaper, you’ve probably gotten a little bit bored of it, time for a new one! Community member, JonsDesignz has produced a stunning background that focuses on the latest games in the series, plus the BC2 Vietnam DLC. The full wallpaper is 1280×720, check out the original thread here.

M26 MASS – Adjustments Will Be Made

News — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 22:25:00 +0000

Since the patch was released a few weeks ago, many weapons have become a lot more balanced. However, some weapons have been strengthened, a bit to much. The M26 MASS is one such weapon, well attachment that has been strengthened. Chances are, you’ve noticed more people using these weapons with a substantial effect on the game.

Demonstrating the M26′s new found power

Let alone being devastating to enemy players, often one hit kills, it is also incredibly accurate. Sure enough, the community has noted the issue and the developers have taken note:

It’s not all bad news, DICE has done a great job with the last patch and the amount of satisfied players has certainly increased. A few days ago, DICE released a server side patch that fixed MAV riding, TV missiles, and AA missles.

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Fixed AA missiles not doing damage to vehicles moving at very high speeds (This is the much wanted heatseaker fix)
Fixed TV Missile doing much more damage than it should (it is no longer a 1-hit kill)
Tweaked tank armor strength
MAV elevatoring fix, round 2; proning on the MAV will now disable it
RCON admin.say command can send to individual players
A few invalid map+gamemode combinations in maplist.txt could crash the server on startup; these combinations are now rejected instead
RCON vars.serverDescription was not returning anything in R20 if the string was not set; this has been changed to return “” instead
RCON player.onChat now reports the target player subset

A huge majority of fixes were taken care of, the community probably shouldn’t expect another major patch until the next round of DLC is released in June.

Battlefield 3 – 50% Off [PC Download]

News — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 22:06:00 +0000

If for some reason you or someone you know doesn’t have BF3 yet, it’s a great time to save big on a copy of the game. Amazon is currently running a sale and selling the game at an incredibly low price, $29.99.

BC2, BF2, and various BF:H products are heavily discounted as well.

13 Million Units Later – 2011 Was Still A Troubling Year

News — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:27:00 +0000

Battlefield 3 was one of EA’s largest game launches, quickly selling millions of copies. The number is now sitting at 13 million units sold. The game’s competitor, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is rumored to have sold some 20+ million copies since it’s launch on November 8, 2011.

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While it looked like a possible banner year, over stretching on several fronts led to a disappointing fiscal year. Estimates put Battlefield 3 sales around 13MM units, the company ‘chased’ the launch dumping an estimated $30MM into incremental marketing after the game launched according to one source within EA.

Still, BF3 had an excellent launch, and EA poured another $30 million into the game post launch. SWTOR was another hit by EA, but the company may have overstretched itself and reportedly had a disappointing fiscal year. Major layoffs were rumored, but EA has quickly denied these and has stated that it’s team is still growing.

Battlelog For iOS-Released

News — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 14:05:00 +0000

Earlier today, Battlelog for iOS was released on the app store by surprise. As of last week, the app was considered a myth, but EA has surprised the community once again. The app comes with most of the features that the desktop website comes with, featuring a full-fledged news and stats platform.

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Hooah! Battlelog is going mobile! With Battlelog on your iPhone, you can stay connected to Battlefield 3 and your gaming friends while on the go.

Battlefield 3 is built around the social platform Battlelog (http://battlelog.battlefield.com), where you meet new gaming friends, compare stats, talk tactics, “hooah!” your friends’ progress in the game and get essential updates straight from the developers.

Now, you can access most features of the full-fledged Battlelog platform on your iPhone! This free app gives you the ability to keep up to date on what is happening right now in Battlefield 3 and how your friends are progressing.

Features in v1.0.0:
Battle Feed
Get real-time notifications when your friends unlock new weapons or get new awards. “Hooah!” and comment on their posts.

Com Center
See which friends are playing right now and what servers they are playing on. View your friends’ profiles and plan for tonight’s game by leaving a message on their wall.

Stats & Unlocks
Track your progress and performance on the battlefield with detailed soldier stats. Check out the dog tags you have collected from your foes and see what new weapons, gadgets, vehicle upgrades, and specializations you are about to unlock next.

Leaderboards
Compare your standing among your friends on the friends leaderboard and view the top worldwide players on the global leaderboard.

News
Stay up to date with the latest Battlelog and Battlefield news. Get essential updates directly from DICE, the developers of Battlefield 3.

Battlelog For iOS – Released

News — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 14:05:00 +0000

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Hooah! Battlelog is going mobile! With Battlelog on your iPhone, you can stay connected to Battlefield 3 and your gaming friends while on the go.

Features in v1.0.0:
Battle Feed
Get real-time notifications when your friends unlock new weapons or get new awards. “Hooah!” and comment on their posts.

Com Center
See which friends are playing right now and what servers they are playing on. View your friends’ profiles and plan for tonight’s game by leaving a message on their wall.

Leaderboards
Compare your standing among your friends on the friends leaderboard and view the top worldwide players on the global leaderboard.

News
Stay up to date with the latest Battlelog and Battlefield news. Get essential updates directly from DICE, the developers of Battlefield 3.

Battlelog For iOS—Released

News — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 14:05:00 +0000

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Hooah! Battlelog is going mobile! With Battlelog on your iPhone, you can stay connected to Battlefield 3 and your gaming friends while on the go.

Features in v1.0.0:
Battle Feed
Get real-time notifications when your friends unlock new weapons or get new awards. “Hooah!” and comment on their posts.

Com Center
See which friends are playing right now and what servers they are playing on. View your friends’ profiles and plan for tonight’s game by leaving a message on their wall.

Leaderboards
Compare your standing among your friends on the friends leaderboard and view the top worldwide players on the global leaderboard.

News
Stay up to date with the latest Battlelog and Battlefield news. Get essential updates directly from DICE, the developers of Battlefield 3.

Battlefield Podcast – Ep. 5

News — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 12:21:00 +0000

In this episode we feature the first interview in a new segment of community interviews, featuring CelticGirly, currently the #3 tank driver in the Battlefield 3 world. We also go over the latest news, discuss the merits of kit unlocks in this episode’s Crossfire segment, and more.

Episode 4

S03E05 – Interview with a Tank Driver

jopeek — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 02:07:09 +0000

Bach Takes Over As DICE’s CEO

News — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 01:12:00 +0000

In a move that’s bound to have little to no effect on Battlefield 3′s development, Patrick Bach (executive producer) replaces KM Troedsson while he is on leave. The reason behind the move is that KM Troedsson is in accordance with DICE’s policies which state that new parents should spend time with their children. Troedsson’s absence is expected to be about four months.

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I think it is a bit unique at a big company, and certainly in the gaming industry, but we want the people working at DICE to see their job as a long time investment

Bach and a small team will manage the extra workload, with Bach overseeing the development of the Close Quarters DLC pack due out in June. Best of luck and congratulations to Troedsson!

Source

Probably The Best Google Glasses Spoof

News — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 22:12:00 +0000

Battlelog App Still On The Way?

News — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 17:50:00 +0000

Are you a Battlefield 3 gamer constantly on the go? Then you’ve probably heard about the Battlelog App for iOS. Comparing and tracking stats on the go is an easy way to pass the time until you can get in on another round of BF3. However, there’s been some concern as to when this app will finally open up to the public.

The app was announced with the Battlelog trailer which came out on September 30th last year. There’s still been some discussion in recent months about the app. The community has been hearing mostly things along the lines of, “it’s coming soon^TM“. To pass the time, gamers have been downloading third party stat trackers and apparently Battlelog has a mobile version (which as of writing, I can’t seem to get it to work with iOS).

@Battlefield’s response almost make’s it sound like the app is suspended/delayed.

After the most recent patch that took very long in much of the community’s eyes, some are wondering if there will be an app at all. Gamers did raise concerns over the lengthy patch delay, but the patch was released. So what’s your opinions on the Battlelog app, do you think it’s still on the way or suspended indefinitely?

Synchronized – The War Begins Ep. 1

News — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 21:31:00 +0000

Last month, we featured the Battlefield Synchronized trailer and today, the team is back with the full episode. This Battlefield 3 movie is chock-full of action, dialogue, and of course, BF3 scenery.

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Welcome to a new kind of machinima which packs a normal stuntmovie into an epic story. Actually this video was planned to be a little bit different, but while developing it, we decided to change it.

All actions taken in this video are pure fictional and do not represent the reality or the political opinion of this videos creator.

Stay tuned for the next episode! http://www.youtube.c…ow/synchronized

Thanks to everyone who helped, you did a great job and a special thanks to Killophile for having some great ideas!
http://www.youtube.com/Killophile

A Special thanks to Luetin09 for voice acting.
http://www.youtube.com/Luetin09

FPSGeneral – Weekly

News — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 23:36:00 +0000

Be The First To Play Close Quarters

News — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 23:22:00 +0000

Heading to PAX East in Boston? Don’t forget to stop by the Nvidia Freeplay area to be one of the first to play Battlefield 3: Close Quarters. The event starts on Friday and runs through Sunday with multiple tournaments. The 8 vs. 8 tournaments will likely be held on the “Ziba Tower” map. Prizes will also be given out by Nvidia, expect to meet a few developers there too .

Xbox 360 Patch – Tomorrow

News — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 22:47:00 +0000

Update: The patch is out in all areas, download, play, and share your opinions!

The Xbox community surrounding BF3 has been waiting for a while and it’s finally here! The Battlefield 3 patch for the Xbox 360 will arrive somewhere between 4am EST (9pm UTC) and 8am EST (1pm UTC).

The update will weigh in at about 1.5gb and will feature a major list of fixes and features.

Battlefield Podcast – Ep. 4

News — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 12:52:00 +0000

Ready for another round of Battlefield Podcast? Check out the latest podcast covering the Battlefield 3 patch and more:

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With the biggest BF3 patch to date just a few days old we decided to record a special episode discussing its effects. We discuss some of the more noticeable changes, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Please let us know what you think of the patch and whether you agree or disagree with our comments by leaving feedback in our forums.

S03E04 – Post Patch Analysis

jopeek — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 04:50:40 +0000

Black Hoodie Back in Store

jopeek — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 21:01:13 +0000

For those of you that missed out the first time around, the Battlefield 3 Soldier Premium Hoodie is now back in stock at the DICE Store.

Psst, The PC Patch Is Live!

News — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 12:21:00 +0000

The latest patch for Battlefield 3 was released a few days ago for the PS3, it is now live for PC. This patch weighs in at 1.6gb. If you haven’t already, take a look at the fixes and new features.

Psst, The PC Patch Is Live!

News — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 12:21:00 +0000

The latest patch for Battlefield 3 was released a few days ago for the PS3, it is now live for PC. This patch weighs in at 1.6gb. If you haven’t already, take a look at the fixes and new features.

12 New Features In The Battlefield 3 Patch

News — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 23:18:00 +0000

In the past few months the patch fix-list grew constantly, the patch for PS3 players has landed and the patch for Battlefield 3 PC players is coming tomorrow. Once the patch actually arrived, there’s twelve things that were lightly discussed or weren’t known about until the release notes. Here’s 12 new features and things to look out for when you play the new version of Battlefield 3:

1. Global Call-Outs

Dipshit medics and support players, you request health/ammo, shoot at them, spam the chat, they don’t even notice. Usually it’s another teammate, who isn’t even in your squad who will end up helping you out and dropping ammo or health. Battlefield 3 players can now skip the middle-man and request items right from the command-rose and the appropriate classes will be alerted via the mini-map on your team.

2. Orders -> Command Rose

You’re a BF3 squad leader and there’s an enemy next to a flag? Instead of spotting them, you’ve now assigned your squad to attack said point . DICE has acknowledged this minor gameplay breaker and has moved orders to within the command rose. More spotting for Battlefield 3!

3. Better Tracking

The current command rose has been buggy, the mouse will now track from the center of the command rose.

4. Easier Interaction

Hover over a command in the comma-rose and let go, no need to click each command. This will allow for a quicker spot, request, or thank you.

5. Readability

The command rose prior to this new patch was a bit hard for Battlefield 3 players to read, it’s now been made a bit easier to understand.

6. The mini-map!!

It’s time to do-away with the semi-artsy overview. Maps can now be the original, satellite, or a hybrid, we suggest using the hybrid version for all Battlefield 3 maps.

7. Honkkk

The jeeps, they have horns!

8. Insta-flares for all players in jets

Yes, we’re all aware that jets have now been ruled somewhat useless by the new patch, but the jets are still a bit easier to get the hang of for new Battlefield 3 players. Helicopters also will have flares by default.

9. Transport helicopter pilots now get a higher paycheck

Are you one of those pilots who flies a group of dedicated gunners around and only get a few points? Instead of ten points for an assist, you’ll be making 50 points per assisted kill as a helicopter pilot in Battlefield 3.

10. SOFLAM also generates XP and points

As targets enter into the SOFLAM’s view, the SOFLAM will paint them, continuously giving recon players points.

11. Bring on the Suppression Ribbons!

One of the most difficult ribbons to get in Battlefield 3 is the suppression ribbon. 7 suppression assists in a round, this has been lowered to a more reasonable 3 suppression assists per round.

12. Pay-2-Cheat

Players can now unlock all items for vehicles, kits, and various other weapons just by paying EA. There’s also an Ultimate Bundle which allows you to unlock everything!

Battlefield 3 PC Patch Coming Tomorrow

News — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 13:38:00 +0000

Starting tomorrow at 3am EST to 4:30am EST, Battlelog and systems associated with Battlefield 3′s PC platform will go into maintenance mode. This is to prep for the Battlefield 3 PC patch, which according to BF3′s lead designer, Gustav Halling, is being released tomorrow.

Battlefield 3 PC Patch – Delayed Because of Consoles

News — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 19:31:00 +0000

Patrick Bach, executive producer for Battlefield 3 at DICE spoke to PC Gamer today regarding the delayed patch for PC players. The PS3 patch was released earlier today, so why wasn’t this major patch released at the same time for PC? Asked if the patch was going to be delivered in one big lump, Bach said, “yes”. And even though it is a frustrating way to deliver the patch, it also is effective.

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It’s very frustrating when it comes to… you have the fix, it’s done but you can’t roll it out. But again, it’s not unique to us – everyone lives in this reality

Bach stated that during the days of Battlefield 2′s development patches were released to fix a prior-patch’s issues. (1.21 would fix 1.2 while not really bringing anything new, but still being a ‘major’ patch release.) So even though PC (and Xbox) gamers will have to wait a little longer for the next patch, the wait should be worth it. Bach says the goal of DICE with this Battlefield 3 patch was to release a quality patch that won’t require emergency fixes.

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Our problem with support is we have a very big and complex game, so if something needs to be fixed, we need to be sure that it doesn’t break something at the other end and again, like I said, we don’t want to do emergency fixes to compensate for a problem in a specific area.

It should be noted that today’s patch for the PS3 was not because of some exclusive deal, but because the PS3 patch simply completed all the steps quicker than the PC and Xbox 360 patches.

Latest BF3 Patch – Now Out On PS3

News — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 12:56:00 +0000

After a few months, the latest Battlefield 3 patch has finally arrived! Today, it has arrived on just PS3, but the patch will also arrive on the Xbox 360 and PC soon.

The patch brought a five-flag layout for the map “Wake Island,” making it similar to it’s PC counterpart. Players can now rent servers from DICE, this will allow gaming clans to have their own server. There are a decent amount of features too, including: custom banners, game-mode, region, server name, and even intricate details like idle times.

New players can now jump up to and be ready to fight BF3 veterans with ‘Shortcuts’. If players wish, they can now purchase their way to weapons and unlocks. There are ten total kits.

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Kit Shortcut Bundle: Immediately unlocks all items unique to the four playable classes
Vehicle Shortcut Bundle: Immediately unlocks all items for all vehicles
The Ultimate Bundle: Immediately unlocks all items from all other available shortcut packs

PS3 players are encouraged to re-download Back to Karkand if they have it, as important fixes have effected it. Players who have already started playing the new patch have reported a much crisper looking game, strong weapons have been balanced/weakened, and many players have noted that jets are a bit underpowered. Once you get a chance to play the new Battlefield 3 patch make sure to leave your comments on it below.

Battlefield Podcast – Ep. 3

News — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 13:56:00 +0000

The third episode of the Battlefield podcast has been released. The Battlefield podcast covers various aspect of the BF3 world and focused on the patch this week.

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In this episode we welcome back Darkness429 and dive into a discussion of the released patch notes, why only 1/3rd of the release date was announced, and chat about further DLC details. In the cross-fire segment we discuss the merits of MAV riding and this week’s Battlefield Tip is actually two completely unrelated tips!

You can listen to episode 2 here for more Battlefield 3 talk.

S03E03 – Patch Me Already

jopeek — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 04:13:09 +0000

Show Notes:

Battlefield 3 Patch Coming 27th for PS3, Xbox and PC Soon After – Massive Fix List

News — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 18:27:00 +0000

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We’ve been hard at work collecting and working on your feedback and suggestions, and are now happy to report that the next patch for Battlefield 3 will be released for PlayStation 3 on the 27th of March. More information on Xbox 360 and PC will come soon.
This patch includes many gameplay tweaks and balances; several suggested by you. The full list of changes and updates is as follows. This update will also bring the “Rent a Server” functionality to Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. For more updated information on this functionality, check back next week.

FIXES FOR PC SERVER OPERATION
- Having the same map occur multiple times in the maplist now works properly
- If adding a new map to the servers maplist after a clear and then running “mapList.runNextRound” the server will ignore any remaining rounds on the map that it still run since before the clear and move to the new first map in the list. The server will now have reset the current rounds per map and run the map in the list for the number of rounds stated when adding the map.
- Maplist can contain up to 1000 entries now
- mapList.list will return at most 100 entries. To get the entire list, perform mapList.list repeatedly with increasing offsets (like banList.list)
GENERAL GAMEPLAY FIXES
-Players should no longer take fall damage from short falls.
-Players now get up from Prone slightly faster, allowing better odds of getting away from a grenade or threat when prone.
-Fixed some situations that would unintentionally make a player unrevivable.
-Reduced the black screen fade in time on spawn. The fade is still necessary for properly streaming in loading content at spawn, but it has been substantially reduced.
-Increased the spawn protection time from 1sec to 2sec. The protection will still be immediately canceled as soon as the player moves or shoots.
-Spawn protection will no longer be canceled by the player looking around.
-Increased the speed at which a player regains accuracy when aiming after moving for a more responsive experience. Firing before fully zoomed will still result inaccurate fire.
-Increased the inaccuracy and recoil added when a player is fully suppressed.
-Shotgun Buck and Flechette rounds now have a less suppressive effect at medium to long range.
-Tweaked the damage levels of Buck and Flechette rounds to balance them with other weapons.
-Improved the suppression of the .44 magnum, .357 magnum, and the 5.8x42mm DAP88 rounds from the Type88 sniper.
-Attempting to Crouch (like Prone) will now properly interrupt Sprint.
-Increased the effectiveness of Suppression Resist Specialization.
-Parachutes now respond to turn and throttle inputs more quickly.
-Switching from primary weapons to sidearms and back now takes less time.
-Increased the effectiveness of explosive resistance.
-Tweaked bipod deploy settings so players can no longer deploy a bipod in places higher than chin level.
-The bipod should now be more reliable when deploying on top of sloped objects like cars and rocks.
-Fixed several issues with vaulting objects, especially for thin railings.
-The Knife now only takes two swipes to kill when attacking from a position where a takedown is not possible.
-CRAM weapons on Carriers now count towards stationary weapon awards.
VEHICLE FIXES
-The A10 properly gives Jet score again.
-Unguided tank rounds and RPGs will now instantly destroy Jets, Attack Helicopters, and Scout Helicopters.
-Increased the damage the MBT’s primary weapon does to the front and side armor of other main battle tanks. Primarily this means 1 less shot to the front, and very good hits to the side can result in a 1 hit to disable.
-Slightly reduced the repair speed of the repair tool.
-Increased the damage done by TOW weapons to armored vehicles.
-Increased the rate of fire and minimum damage of the Coax HMG.
-Increased the damage mounted gunner .50cal HMGs do at long range.
-Increased the power of the repair tool when killing soldiers or destroying vehicles slightly.
-Fixed a problem when locking on to two nearby targets, the locking should no longer jump rapidly between multiple targets. This applies to all locking weapons and Laser Designators.
-Increased the damage of the Javelin and Air to Ground missiles against laser designated targets.
-Javelin missiles fired without Laser targeting now do more damage to the side and rear of MBTs.
-Slightly reduced the locking time of all weapons vs Laser Designated targets.
-Laser Guided missiles can now be distracted by Flares.
-Increased the locking distance for AGM Missiles for Jets when locking on laser designated targets.
-Reduced the locking time for the AGM Missiles for Jets to make them more viable against ground targets.
-Reduced the locking time for AA Missiles for Jets to make them more viable against air targets.
-Flares will no longer break the lock of a vehicle that is locked on, it will only distract the missiles.
-Flares now more reliably distract missiles, especially for Helicopters.
-Flares for Jets and Choppers now reload at 11 seconds again, except for the gunner, which remains unchanged at 20sec.
-AA Missiles are more difficult to dodge in Jets, this was unintended behavior that created an imbalance against skilled pilots.
-AA Missiles should no longer kill the pilot instead of the vehicle.
-AA Missiles should no longer detonate before hitting their target or a Flare/ECM chaff cloud.
-Reduced the damage AA missiles do to jets to 45%.
-Fixed the SU-35 firing Air to Air missiles at a lower rate of fire than other vehicles.
-The IGLA and Stinger now lock on much more quickly and disable an attack aircraft in 1 hit, but have significantly reduced range. This should allow Stingers to mount an effective close range point defense, without dominating an entire airspace.
-Increased the speed of the Helicopter AA missiles lock on to reduce the tedious nature of Helicopter dogfights and improve the Helicopter’s defensive abilities vs Jets.
-Slightly reduced the damage of Jet cannons against Aircraft. Damage is now only slightly higher than it was originally at launch.
-Increased RPG and SMAW damage against aircraft.
-Guided Rockets will now only track ground targets, as originally intended.
-Reduced the direct damage done by Attack Helicopter gunners vs Armor.
-Helicopter guns should now suppress correctly.
-Improved the accuracy of the Attack Helicopter’s Rocket Pods, both guided and unguided.
-Slightly increased the damage of Attack Helicopter’s Rocket Pods vs Infantry and other Helicopters.
-Additional fixes have been made to the TV missile to prevent it from blowing up the lauching vehicle.
-The Mi28 has received upgrades to its climbing and yawing abilities.
-Fixed an issue where guided rockets from the Mi28 did not follow the crosshair properly.
-Improved the accuracy of the Mi28 gun to match the AH1 gun.
-Increased the direct hit damage of the APFSDS rounds for the IFVs.
-Decreased the locking time of the IFV Guided Missile to make it more viable as an unlock.
-Miniguns and Helicopter Gunners now more quickly destroy parked cars.
-Increased the power of explosions from cars and other explosive static objects.
-Dying from the explosion of a car or other explosive static object should now correctly credit the player who caused the explosion.
-Adjusted the F35′s Center of Mass and Hover Engine for more stable, level flight in all flight modes.
-Updated the F35 weapon systems to be consistent with the other Jets.
-The F35 will now only attempt to enter Hover at low altitudes, though it will maintain the hover until forward flight is resumed, even if it reaches high altitude.
-The F35 and SU35 now properly have Ejection seats to prevent players from being killed when exiting the vehicle.
-Changed the Kornets to TOW launchers on Wake Island and moved the spawn position of the AAV to a more level position.
-Fixed several bugs with air vehicles colliding with objects at high speeds and taking no damage.
-Players will no longer receive suicides or team kills if they crash their vehicle (dying is punishment enough).
-The MAV will no longer destroy vehicles that run into it, instead it should be destroyed.
-Jet and Helicopter collisions should now properly result in the death of both vehicles.
-You can now spot with the EOD bot.
-Increased the base accuracy for AA guns and added a decrease in accuracy over the course of a burst.
-Reduced the damage AA guns (both mobile and stationary) do to infantry.
-The carrier based CRAM stations are now properly tracked as stationary weapons.
-CRAM and Pantsir stationary AA weapons now have Air Radar equipped by default.
-Improved the sound feedback for damage to help players better understand the amount of damage their vehicle is taking.
-The A10′s extinguisher should now function properly.
-Disabled vehicles now have an increased reverse speed to help escape to cover after being disabled.
-The T90′s crosshair now more accurately represents the trajectory of the main gun.
-Toggle and Hold zoom settings now also apply to soldier controlled turrets on jeeps, transport helicopters, boats, and IFVs port guns.
-The AAV now has zoom and a 3P camera when using the turret.
-Tweaked the AAV’s turret controls to be more useful when the vehicle is moving.
-The Z11w now properly functions with Below Radar.
-Below Radar will now also prevent the lock on of Stinger and IGLA missiles.
-Added Horns to all Jeeps.
-Tanks can no longer drive into the water and cross the Wake Island lagoon completely submerged.
WEAPONS
Several weapons have had recoil or accuracy adjusted in orer to balance these weapons in effectiveness and also increase the feeling of individuality in each gun
-Added Extended Mags to the ASVAL. The Extended Mags can be unlocked at 200 kills with the AS VAL.
-Reduced the recoil of the SKS rifle and increased its maximum damage at close range.
-Fixed aimed firing max accuracy on the Pecheneg to be consistent with other LMGs.
-Semiautomatic and automatic shotguns firing FRAG rounds now do slightly less splash damage.
-The M26 MASS frag and slug rounds are now the more effective pump action versions.
-The M26 MASS and M320 now benefit from the Laser Sight when mounted with an Underslung Rail.
-Fixed the bolt action timer on the L96 that would cause an animation glitch.
-9x39mm rounds no longer benefit from the Sniper headshot bonus.
-Increased the damage of the 9x39mm rounds at long range.
-Fixed the AKS74u damage at max range, it was incorrectly higher than other carbines.
-Increased the damage of the .357 and .44 magnum rounds at max range.
-All semiautomatic and bolt weapons, including all shotgun slugs, now have their maximum damage out to 15m.
-Semiautomatic weapons will no longer “jam” if the player presses fire faster than the weapon is capable of shooting. Some semi-automatic weapons have had their rates of fire adjusted to fit this change.
-Bolt action sniper rounds now have a chance to kill at close range if the player is hit in the upper chest.
-Semiautomatic sniper rifles, Assault Rifles, LMGs, and shotgun slugs now have more consistent damage over long range. At maximum range shots to the legs will not require more hits to kill.
-The spread for Flechette rounds has been reduced slightly on all shotguns.
-The spread for Buckshot has been reduced on the M1014, DAO-12, and S12k. These weapons have an accuracy advantage over the USAS12 but are not as accurate as the 870.
-Zooming shotguns with Buckshot and Flechette loads will now result in a slightly tighter cone for the pellets.
-Reduced the delay time between quick knife attempts slightly. Attacks with the knife drawn are still significantly faster.
-Fixed the Rate of Fire when the USAS and MK3A1 are equipped with FRAG rounds. All other shotguns correctly had a reduced rate of fire with frags, except the USAS and MK3A1.
-Fixed an Accuracy bug when the MK3A1 shotgun is equipped with FRAG or Slug rounds.
-Shotguns equipped with slugs will no longer automatically begin reloading if the weapon is zoomed when the clip is empty. This allows players to see where the slug lands before reloading.
-Fixed 12g FRAG rounds not breaking glass at long range.
-Players can now earn the shotgun Ribbon using the M26 MASS.
-The underslung grenade launchers for Russian rifles now properly report GP30 in the kill log.
-Fixed the AEK971 40mm shotgun round listing itself as FRAG in the kill log.
-Fixed the 40mm smoke grenade so it no longer passes through soldiers and unbroken objects before it detonates.
-M27 IAR: No change. The M27 is a heavier version of the M416, giving it good all-around performance though it has worse performance on the move.
-RPK-74M: Reduced the initial recoil and vertical recoil. The RPK-74M is a more stable firing platform than the comparable M27, though it lacks the M27′s higher rate of fire.
-M249: Added an initial recoil. The M249 is the fastest firing belt fed LMG, giving it superior suppressive and damage abilities. The initial recoil makes it a bit harder to run and gun, while making little overall impact on performance.
-Type-88: Slightly increased the initial recoil, reduced muzzle drift. The Type88 fires the slowest of the medium caliber LMGs, though what it lacks in rate of fire it makes up for in controllability.
-PKP: Reduced recoil but added a slight initial recoil, increased damage at max range. The Pecheneg has a heavy vertical recoil with a hard hitting round and little drift, this makes it excellent at sustained fire.
-M60: Reduced the initial recoil, increased damage at all ranges. The M60 has a very low rate of fire that makes it the most controllable with the powerful 7.62x51mm round.
-M240B: Added an initial recoil, increased damage at all ranges. The fastest firing medium MG, the M240 has a substantial muzzle kick and drift that makes all that power difficult to control.
-QBB-95: Reduced the total recoil but increased muzzle drift and initial recoil. The QBB-95 should now kick harder but settle into full auto fire better, combined with the bullpup hip fire bonus this makes the QBB-95 a highly mobile LMG.
-MG36: Added an initial recoil. The MG36 fires at a fast 750rpm and makes a nice middle ground between the controllability of a clip LMG and the sustained firepower of a belt fed LMG.
-870: No change. The 870 is a popular and highly effective weapon.
-DAO-12: Reduced the total pellets fired from 12 to 9. The DAO-12 has a high magazine capacity with a slow reload that makes it a solid all around shotgun.
M1014: Increased the rate of fire from 200 max to 210 max. Reduced the total pellets fired from 12 to 9. The M1014 was underperforming compared to the USAS12 and 870, it should now be more viable in CQB thanks to a higher rate of fire.
-S12k: Increased extended mag from 8 rounds to 10 rounds. Reduced the total pellets fired from 12 to 9. The S12k larger extended magazine but slower rate of fire should make it stand out against the M1014, while the DAO-12 has a higher capacity over all, but a slowe reload.
-MK3A1: Increased magazine capacity to 8 and 12 for normal and extended mag respectively. Reduced the total pellets fired from 12 to 9. The MK3A1 has a lower ROF than the USAS12, giving it slightly more ammo makes this an edge vs the USAS.
USAS-12: Increased the initial recoil. Reduced the total pellets fired from 12 to 9. The USAS 12 has a higher ROF than other shotguns, this recoil change better balances that advantage and the pellets balance its damage output.
-M4A1: No Change. Well-rounded carbine, with good rate of fire and controllable recoil.
-M4: Increased vertical recoil, reduced horizontal recoil. The Burst only M4 should now feel different to its automatic sibling, the reduced horizontal recoil emphasizes the greater control you have in burst fire.
-AKS-74U: Reduced initial recoil and vertical recoil. The AKS-74u’s low rate of fire is paired with great controllability. The overall increase in sustained fire control should help this carbine stand out, while the first kick gives it character.
-SG553: Reduced initial recoil and vertical recoil. The SG553 is a lower rate of fire carbine with greater controllability than the G36C. The change to initial recoil should better highlight this difference.
-A91: No Change. The A91′s high rate of fire and bullpup from the hip accuracy is offset by a poor controllability on full auto.
-G36C: Reduced initial recoil. The G36C is a well-rounded carbine, with a medium rate of fire and a medium recoil. The 2 round burst mode gives this weapon an edge at mid-range.
-SCAR-H: Increased damage at maximum range and increased max range. The SCAR-H fires a heavier round than all other carbines, giving it better stopping power at range at the cost of a low fire rate that penalizes it in CQB.
-G53: Reduced recoil and drift, recoil settle times now similar to other carbines. The HK53 is a short carbine with a lot of initial kick but a stable recoil pattern and a medium rate of fire. The changes give it more character compared to the G36.
-QBZ-95B: Reduced muzzle sway, recoil settle times now similar to other carbines. A bullpup like the A91, the QBZ-95B is steady on the move with a lower rate of fire for controllable shots at longer range. The built in foregrip is now properly reflected in the weapon’s stats.
-AK-74M: Reduced initial recoil and vertical recoil. The AK-74M sacrifices rate of fire for controllable automatic fire, the initial recoil was negatively affecting the feeling of controllability.
-M16A3: No Change. The M16 (both A3 and A4) provide a well-rounded stable firing platform with a high rate of fire that is relatively controllable.
-M16A4: Increased vertical recoil, reduced horizontal recoil. The Burst only M16A4 should now feel different to its automatic sibling, the reduced horizontal recoil emphasizes the greater control you have in burst fire.
-M416: No change. The M416 is the middle ground AR, blending a medium recoil and rate of fire.
AEK-971: Increased initial recoil, reduced aimed accuracy slightly. The AEK has a very high rate of fire, and also a large muzzle drift that makes control difficult. The low initial recoil allowed a player to kill before the weapon’s weaknesses kicked in while the reduced accuracy highlights its close range role.
-F2000: Reduced vertical recoil, increased zoomed accuracy slightly. As a bullpup, the F2000 has a bonus to accuracy on the move and from the hip while its high rate of fire sacrifices controllability for saturation. The previous changes were an overreaction, this is a corrective update.
-AN94: Reduced vertical recoil. The AN94′s 2 round burst mode is incredibly accurate, but it suffers from a low rate of fire on fully automatic. The recoil in full auto has been reduced somewhat to offset this penalty and make the AN94 more attractive.
-G3A3: Increased damage at all ranges, reduced vertical recoil. The G3A3′s heavy recoil and heavy round are offset by a low rate of fire and a small magazine. The G3A3 was clearly outclassed at all ranges.
-KH2002: No Change. The KH2002 is locked to burst fire, with a high rate of fire and a large muzzle drift the weapon favors accurate mid-range fire.
-L85A2: Increased accuracy, reduced muzzle drift. The L85 differs from other bullpup style ARs by having a low rate of fire, the accuracy and controllability were too low to offset the rate of fire.
-FAMAS: The FAMAS combines an extreme rate of fire with extreme recoil making it very difficult to use at anything other than close quarters combat. Due to update restrictions, the FAMAS had different stats on all 3 platforms. The FAMAS is now uniform on all platforms and now has the correct 25 round magazine.
-PP2000: Reduced the initial recoil. The PP2000 has a lower ROF than other PDWs and needed the controllability to be balanced.
-UMP45: Reduced accuracy loss during full auto. The UMP45 hits hard and has a controllable recoil at the cost of a heavy initial recoil kick.
-MP7: No Change. The MP7 has a very low recoil and a high muzzle drift that favors longer bursts than the P90.
-AS VAL: Increased vertical recoil, reduced first shot recoil, reduced accuracy on the move. The AS VAL fires a long range, highly accurate, high damage projectile that favors short bursts or single fire when stationary. While still quite good from the hip, the AS VAL will suffer if fired while moving and aimed.
-PDW-R: Reduced the initial recoil. The PDW-R has high recoil and favors burst fire, the added initial recoil was making it less effective in small bursts.
-P90: Reduced the initial recoil. The P90 favors a run and gun play style using long bursts to control muzzle drift, the initial recoil was making bursting ineffective.
-PP-19: Slightly reduced the initial recoil when firing, increased base damage. The PP-19′s high initial recoil was over penalizing the burst fire needed to be effective on the low damage, high capacity weapon.
SCOPES
-Fixed the 7x scope not zooming to the full 7x on all weapons.
-Corrected the M39′s laser sight so it points at the point of impact and aligns with scopes when zoomed.
-Fixed a misaligned scope crosshair on the G3A3 using the Rifle Scope 6x.
-Fixed the PKA and PKA-S scopes on the M416 having swapped zoom levels.
-The L96 Straight Pull bolt now functions properly.
-The L96 ironsights have been adjusted for a clearer aiming picture and correct use of the integral front sight.
-The L96 now properly shows scope glint when using the 8x, and 12x scopes.
-Tweaked IRNV to be more consistent across all levels.
-Fixed a rendering issue with IRNV view when taking damage.
-Tweaked the IRNV zoom times and scope visible areas to be the same across all weapons (some were faster than others).
-Fixed the QBU-88 sniper and the L96 IRNV scopes to use the proper sniper reticule
BIPOD
-The Accuracy increase and Recoil reduction of the Bipod has been significantly improved for Assault Rifles and Carbines.
-The Bipod now provides similar Accuracy and Recoil benefits no matter if the weapon is fired while aiming or without aiming for all weapons. Previously only LMGs were worked this way. This especially improves the speed at which snipers can make follow up shots, and also allows effective unaimed suppressive fire with Assault Rifles and Carbines.
-Increased the Speed at which a bipod is deployed, allowing the user to obtain the bipod’s bonus sooner after the deploy has started and allowing the weapon to be aimed in a far shorter time. The speed has been increased 40-50%, depending on the weapon and animation.
HEAVY BARREL
-The Vertical Recoil penalty of the Heavy Barrel has been reduced. The value has been changed from a global percent increase to a weapon specific value.
-A small Hip Accuracy penalty has been added to the Heavy Barrel to represent the added weight of the accessory, as well as focus the attachment on accurate mid and long range fire. The exact penalty amount is a weapon specific value.
-Several weapons with low default bullet speed now have their bullet speed increased when the Heavy Barrel is equipped. This is in effect for the A91, G3A3, AKS-74u, G36C, M4A1, SCAR-H, SG553, G53, and QBZ-95B.
-The Heavy Barrel is now also paired with Match Rounds which increase the maximum range of the weapon. The minimum and maximum damage are unchanged, weapons with the Heavy Barrel will be more effective in mid range.
-The Aimed Accuracy bonus provided by the Heavy Barrel has been increased. This will increase the effectiveness of the Heavy Barrel for small bursts, as originally intended.
IRNV FIXES
-Tweaked IRNV to be more consistent across all levels.
-Fixed a rendering issue with IRNV view when taking damage.
-Tweaked the IRNV zoom times and scope visible areas to be the same across all weapons (some were faster than others).
-Fixed the QBU-88 sniper and the L96 IRNV scopes to use the proper sniper reticule.
FOREGRIP
-The Horizontal Sway reduction has been changed from a global percent reduction to a weapon specific value reduction. For most guns this means very little change, for guns which have a large horizontal recoil the change is more substation. The FAMAS, F2000, and AEK971 are most effected, the AK-74, M16, and M416 are nearly unchanged.
-A small long range Aimed Accuracy penalty has been added to the foregrip. Players who generally find themselves fighting at mid to long range may want to change their accessory, while players fighting in CQB will go largely unaffected. Combining the Foregrip with a Silencer or a Heavy Barrel will offset this penalty.
LASER SIGHT
-The Hip Accuracy bonus provided by the Laser Sight has been increased. Some PDWs have had their crouch and prone base stats adjusted to prevent hip firing being more accurate than aimed fire when using a laser sight.
-The bonus is now a weapon specific value instead of a global percentage, some guns receive larger or smaller bonuses, though all bonuses are better than they were previously.
SUPPRESSOR
-The Suppressor no longer reduces the maximum damage of a weapon when equipped. Instead the Suppressor reduces the minimum and maximum range of the weapon, making it ideal for CQB and Stealth. This change will make the Suppressor slightly more effective at long range, where the bullet drop and speed makes shots difficult already, and reduces the power of the suppressor at mid range slightly.
-The Suppressor’s recoil bonus remains unchanged at a global 10% decrease. This is less than the Flash Suppressor’s bonus for all weapons.
-The Hip Accuracy penalty of the Suppressor has been changed from a global percentage to a per weapon value. Generally this penalty is higher now, but not for all weapons. Specifically, the belt LMGs and bolt Snipers do not have any additional hip fire penalty, as their penalty is already at the maximum possible value.
-Reduced the Aimed Accuracy bonus of the Suppressor from 50% to 25%. A Suppressor and Foregrip combo will have similar accuracy to a weapon without any Accessories, at the penalty of worse Hip Fire Accuracy and Range and with the benefit of much improved Stealth and reduced Recoil.
FLASH SUPPRESSOR
-The Flash Suppressor no longer reduces accuracy for Automatic Fire.
-The Flash Suppressor now also works as a recoil compensator, reducing the Vertical Recoil by a weapon specific value. This bonus is larger than the bonus provided by the Suppressor.
-A small Hip Accuracy penalty has been added to the Flash Suppressor to represent the added weight of the accessory. The exact penalty amount is a weapon specific value.
GADGETS
-Reduced the spot times on C4 and Claymore projectiles from 30 to 15 sec.
-Tweaked the controls and physics for the EOD bot to improve its handling and aiming capabilities.
-The Radio Beacon, Mortar, MAV, EOD bot, T-UGS, and SOFLAM should now be much easier to deploy.
-The MAV will now be destroyed when running into a soldier or vehicle at high speed. It is still possible to strategically sacrifice your MAV on a soldier; it will be destroyed in the process.
-The MAV now properly shows up in the Kill Feed. Previously it simply displayed “KILLED.”
-The MAV can no longer be used as an elevator.
-Matched the motion sensor sweep frequency and range on the MAV to the TUGS.
-Players will no longer auto enter SOFLAM, MAV, and EOD bots after they are deployed.
-Players may now use their knife to destroy enemy equipment.
-C4 will no longer be detonable after a player respawns, if the player is revived within 5 seconds he can still detonate his C4.
-The player may now have a maximum number of mines which will persist after the player’s death. Deploying more than the maximum of 6 mines will remove a previous mine from the world.
-Claymores now live up to 5 seconds after a player dies, the player can have a max 2 claymores planted at the same time.
-Claymores can now detonate from vehicles and can be used to disable jeeps or kill the passengers in light jeeps. Claymores will not do any damage to heavy vehicles.
-Ammobags now stay until the user redeploys them like Medkits.
-Ammobags resupply bullets more quickly, but explosives resupply more slowly, especially 40mm grenades.
-Slightly reduced the effective blast radius of the RPG, SMAW, and 40mm grenade projectiles against infantry.
-Reduced the total number of RPG and SMAW missiles carried from 5 to 4. Players desiring more rockets will want to use the Explosive spec.
-Slightly increased the heal rate of the Medical Crate.
-The MAV now will also descend by pressing the Crouch Toggle key. (PC)
-The M224 Mortar can no longer be deployed in an area that is out of combat for another team like a home base or other protected spawn.
-Tweaked M224 exit points so the player faces in the direction of the mortar when he exits.
-Mines, Claymores, C4 and other deployable items will now only appear on the minimap when spotted by a teammate.
TEAM DEATHMATCH
-Fixed a bug where players would spawn close to the enemy team at the start of the round.
-Tehran Highway playable area has been doubled and is now the same as the Squad Deathmatch set up. Spawn points have been tweaked, and an extra spawn zone has been added north of the footbridge.
-Kharg Island has a new spawn zone layout, along with a bigger playable area and new cover objects. Spawn points have also been tweaked.
-Strike at Karkand spawns zones have been tweaked to improve player flow. Spawn points have been tweaked to improve safety upon spawning.
-Sharqi Peninsula spawn zones have been adjusted to optimize player movement. Spawn points have been tweaked so players spawn more safely.
-Seine Crossing spawn zone set up has been improved. There is a new spawn zone by the alleyway to the northwest with additional spawn points.
-Caspain Border spawn zones have been tweaked slightly.
SQUAD DEATHMATCH
-Fixed a bug where players would spawn close to the enemy team at the start of the round.
-Damavand Peak layout and spawn zones have been tightened to reduce the spread of players across the map
-Tehran Highway now features an extra spawn zone north of the footbridge, along with tweaked spawn points.
-Noshahr Canals spawn zones have been tweaked. Removed unsafe spawn points in the Northeast corner, and in the middle of the container area to the Southwest.
DISABLE ANTI-ALIASING ON PS3 TO REDUCE INPUT LAG
PlayStation 3 players may now turn off anti-alias in the options menu to reduce input lag.
IMPROVED COMMO-ROSE FOR PC

As has been rumored for some time, we are making some improvements to the commo-rose on PC. This is partially based on feedback from the community.
Please be aware that the commo-rose will change depending on your current position – vehicles and infantry each have separate call outs. Each function should trigger appropriate voice messages as well as icons on the mini map.

Each button should trigger appropriate voice messages as well as icons on the mini map. Players should keep an eye on the mini map for these icons that will flash when a team mate is requesting aid via the commo-rose.

IMPROVEMENTS TO MINIMAP
we are also adjusting the level of detail to give a clearer picture for players when using the mini-map.
The three new mini map modes are:

How ’bout everyone calms down

News — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 18:12:00 +0000

Truth is, the Battlefield 3 patch is coming, till then:

Battlefield 3 Console Server Browser – Now More Advanced

News — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 14:59:00 +0000

As of the latest service overhaul and Battlefield 3 patch, console players will now enjoy a more in-depth server experience. Selecting a server won’t be such a mundane task and is on it’s way to becoming more selective. Players can now choose server that tailor to a specific set of maps. DICE has added servers that focus on rush maps, large conquest maps, most popular, and more. This method of selecting a server has been introduced to make finding a Battlefield 3 server a bit more customizable.

Patch Release Date Tomorrow?

News — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 19:03:00 +0000

Update 3: Unconfirmed rumors peg the release date on March 27th.

Update 2: Coming this afternoon .

Update: The BF3 patch release date is coming within the next few hours, the patch will be announced today!

‘Battlefield 3 Patch’, this is one of the most popular keywords relating to BF3 right now, and it makes sense. The next BF3 patch has been talked about by developers and gaming sites like this one since December. Over the past few weeks there’s been multiple comments by DICE and EA officials about the next patch, teasing plenty of new features. One thing that the developers are hesitant to talk about, is when these fixes will actually be released. But on Twitter today, DICE’s head CM, Daniel Matros stated that he hopes to be able to announce the release date of the next Battlefield 3 patch.

Advert-Game: Planetside 2

News — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 22:34:00 +0000

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Full Details for Giveaway (Read it all before posting): Basically, just post your favorite story from the original Planetside in the comments of this video, along with the faction you want to get a t-shirt/sticker from.

Next week we will go through and pick the best 4 (the 3 factions, and the general Planetside 2 one), send out shirts to them, and then pick the 3 second place winners which will receive stickers.

The T-Shirts and Stickers are both from the Planetside 2 press event at GDC, and can’t be obtained anywhere else, so it’s a once in a life time giveaway!

The story can be funny, serious, amazing, whatever, just tell us what your favorite story is from Planetside. Now, many of you might not have actually played the original, and in that case, tell us what you are most looking forward to in Planetside 2 and why you want to play it. The winner of that story will win the basic Planetside 2 t-shirt, not one of the factions, sorry, those are saved for die-hard fans!

We will be shipping the shirts and stickers wherever we can in the world, so don’t worry about location, we will try are hardest to ship them wherever the winner might be. So just post your story and wait for next week when we will reveal the winners and post the stories for all to read.

If you have any questions/comments feel free to message me, or ask in the comments if you want, although it might get lost in the stories.

Note: To future winners, we will be contacting you through youtube, and if you do not respond in a timely manner(1-2 days), we will move on to others who can be reached, so make sure next week to check your youtube inbox!

Thanks for participating, goodluck, and don’t forget to subscribe for more contests, giveaways, gameplay, interviews, and more soon!

Planned Downtime – Battlefield 3 Servers

News — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 02:28:00 +0000

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We are rolling out several backend updates as we lay the groundwork for the upcoming [Battlefield 3] patch. We will keep you advised and provide dates ASAP.

Online services for PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 will be going offline March 20th at 9 AM UTC (4 AM EST) / 1 AM PST until 10 AM UTC (5 AM EST) / 2 AM PST. Battlefield 3 online multiplayer and the Battlelog services will be unavailable during this time.

No BF3 Patch Release Date… Yet

News — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 22:38:00 +0000

Last week, DICE’s Daniel Matros tweeted to a user expressing his hope for the Battlefield 3 patch release date to be announced soon. Matros was optimistic and hoped that the community would receive information by Friday the 16th. Unfortunately, this date has come and gone, with no word.

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@Ghost_LeaderBG many reasons. We work longer on them, EA cert process and better to make all backend changes at once. Quality before rushing

Gustav Halling, Battlefield 3′s lead designer answered a user’s question concerning the patch as well. The team has been busy for the past year and a half, deeply focused on Battlefield 3. The team celebrated not only BF3′s success, but DICE’s 20th anniversary by taking the team to Dubai. The team is back, and the patch is expected soon. Last week, it was revealed that the Battlefield 3 patch was in Sony and Microsoft’s certification process. This process takes about two – three weeks. Given the past, the community should expect the next Battlefield 3 patch no later than April 6th.

Free Battlefield 3 Tees & Posters

News — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 20:06:00 +0000

If you haven’t already gotten your limited edition lithograph for Battlefield 3, then now’s a good time. The DICE store in the US and Europe are both holding a special sale for gamers. If you’re in Europe, you can get a free Shadow Tee with the After The Earthquake Lithograph or a free Poster with the Weapon tee.

In the US? Get a poster with the Zoom Tee, there’s a free Weapon tee with the wristband and $15 off the After the Earthquake Lithograph and Shadow Tee combo.

Also, remember the DICE competition for T-shirt designs? This contest is in the final stages and we should hear more soon!

Battlefield 3 To Add Subscription Service?

News — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 16:05:00 +0000

VentureBeat recently did an interview with Patrick Soderlund concerning the future of the series. The interview as usual, covers various points of Battlefield 3, what has been done, what’s being done, and has an interesting question at the end. What about a subscription service? Soderlund notes that EA/DICE is looking at the option in an effort to maximize their investment. What Soderlund doesn’t say though, is that this is official:

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That may take us to different places, but we’re not really talking about where that is yet.

A subscription service for Battlefield 3 could range from a set monthly price, which gives a player access to a bunch of new content, or BattleElite. A paid version of Battlelog (not likely in any sense). But what about an MMO-FPS (and lay-off, that post is from 2008)? At one point Battlefield 3 was speculated to be an MMO-FPS, the first of it’s kind. Clearly this didn’t happen, nor will it likely happen. The infrastructure has been built, and won’t be switched. If you are truly concerned about losing the Battlefield 3 that we’re all familiar with, then it’s probably good to read a comment from earlier in the interview:

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Well, the Games label, which is what I oversee, is actually full of fans. We are the fans. Let’s never forget that we are here to make games that we want to play. And arguably, if we make a game that we think is great and that we want to play — obviously we need to be objective — but if you do that you’re ultimately going to win over the audience. Because we are the audience. That’s one way of looking at it, and that’s the approach that we take. That’s really worked for us.

Again, a Battlefield 3 subscription subscription is being looked at, but it’s not official.

Free Tees & Posters in the DICE Store

jopeek — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 02:25:44 +0000

If you’re in need of an updated wardrobe or you were waiting to buy some BF3 swag, now’s a good time as DICE is giving away free stuff with your purchase. Check out the details below:

Europe
In Europe you can get a free Shadow Tee with the After The Earthquake Lithograph or a free Poster with the Weapon tee. We’ll be launching a special hoodie bundle next week!

USA
In the US we’re giving away a poster with the Zoom Tee, there’s a free Weapon tee with the wristband and $15 off the After the Earthquake Lithograph and Shadow Tee combo.

Battlerecorder Exists, But Not Available To Battlefield 3 Players

News — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 14:10:00 +0000

A Battlefield 3 fan asked Roland Smedberg of DICE (senior video director) about how the game’s trailer are made. Smedberg responded with: “It’s a mix of Frostbite editor, battlerecorder and straight up 1p capture.” BF2 players will remember the powerful replay tool, titled the same. As BF3 was a sequel, many players hoped that BF3 would also get the powerful tool to look at replays, compile montages, and make movies. However, the tool never made it into the game and gamers have had to come up with some other creative methods for making videos.

Knowing that it does exist, maybe the community will get to use it in the future. Neither DICE or EA have acknowledged the fact that it exists or if it will make it into the next Battlefield 3 patch. You can view the latest BF3 trailer here.

Close Quarters DLC = $14.99 And More Battlefield 3

News — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 18:33:00 +0000

The three new DLC packs were announced last week and we got to see the trailer earlier today. However, there’s been some more news regarding the expansion packs, specifically Close Quarters, as it is being released in June. A list of weapons is currently available and is growing.

Quote

Battlefield 3: Close Quarters is a themed expansion pack bringing the team play of Battlefield 3 to tight indoor environments. The frantic close quarters infantry combat showcases the wide spectrum of battles that onlyBattlefield 3 can deliver, from huge open environments to intimate indoor gunplay. Battlefield 3: Close Quartersis amplified by unprecedented high definition destruction, new ways to play, added persistence, and new weapons including the ACW-R carbine, the M417 sniper rifle, the L86LSW machine gun and the M5K tactical machine pistol.

This pack is set at a price of $14.99 or 1,200 MS points (Xbox 360 players only). We recently got our hands on some new information regarding the Close Quarters DLC pack:

Get plunged into frantic and relentless infantry combat on 4 new maps
HD Destruction lets you reduce entire locales to ruin
Earn 10 new weapons and bring them back to the base game
Complete 10 new Assignments and equip 5 unique dog tags

Again this DLC will be released this coming June! With more Battlefield 3 DLC following in the Fall and Winter later this year.

List of New Weapons For Battlefield 3

News — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 15:40:00 +0000

Update: New weapons.

The Close Quarters trailer was released earlier, featuring the latest Battlefield 3 DLC. This new pack will also bring new weapons to the battlefield. Below is a list of expected new BF3 weapons:

The weapons pictured here do not depict what the weapons in BF3 will look like, these are their real-life variants.

MP5K Machine Pistol

M417 (Sniper Variant)

SPAS-12

IMI Micro Tavor-21

ACW-R

Steyr AUG

LSAT

SCAR-L

L86A1 LSW

Battlefield 3 Close Quarters Trailer & Screen Shots

News — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 13:21:00 +0000

Last week Close Quarters, along with two other packs of DLC were announced for Battlefield 3. Today, the community has now been graced with the pack’s trailer and new screen shots. The Close Quarters DLC focuses on tightly integrated maps, where fights are just around the corner. High-Definition destruction is also on it’s way; destroy plaster, rubble, props, and of course, buildings. The biggest thing to note about this DLC is that it only supports up to 16 players per server, a clear indication as to how tight these BF3 maps will be.

Get plunged into frantic and relentless infantry combat
Check your corners as death can come from any angle
HD destruction lets you reduce entire locales to ruin
Earn new weapons and bring them back to the base game
Complete new assignments and equip unique dog tags
Play in new ways, mixing team play and instant action

The map pack will include four maps, the one seen in the trailer and the screen shots below is “Ziba Tower.” From watching the trailer, it’s easy to tell that the level of destruction has been upped and is noticeably more real.

Battlefield Podcast – Ep. 2

News — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 12:56:00 +0000

The Battlefield Podcast is back for Battlefield 3. The three man group cover various topics concerning the Battlefield community and the future of the game. This week they discussed the new DLC that was announced for Battlefield 3. You can listen below.

Quote

Episode 2 follows DICE “Big News” announcement of several upcoming DLCs for Battlefield 3. Heekwon, Shawn, and Ole discuss what details we know about the first expansion pack, Close Quarters, and then argue the merits of larger vs smaller map sizes in a new “Crossfire” segment.
Don’t miss the episode’s Battlefield Tip and please leave us feedback in the comments or forums.

S03E02 – Close Quarters

jopeek — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 18:15:33 +0000

Don’t miss the episode’s Battlefield Tip and please leave us feedback in the comments or forums.

Show Notes:

New Battlefield Information?

News — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 19:58:00 +0000

MCVUK, a news publication focused towards the retail industry got their hands on a 2012 release schedule. Along with listing GTA V and a Dark Knight Rises video game, there is another title: “Battlefield Evolved”. There is no information on this title, but MCV speculates that it includes Battlefield 3 and all it’s DLC. A somewhat similar situation to what EA did with Battlefield Vietnam: Redux, including BF:V’s patches and an EA produced WW2 mod. If this were the case Battlefield Evolved would have: Battlefield 3′s Back to Karkand, PWP, and the next two or three DLC’s would be included as well.

Humorous ‘Cooking’ Video

News — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 19:31:00 +0000

Patpromovies, a newer Battlefield 3 YouTube personality has been turning out some pretty funny videos. The latest is his ‘Cooking With Kevlar’ video. Give it a watch below:

Battlefield 3 Box Art For DLC

News — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 21:38:00 +0000

The three new packs of DLC for Battlefield 3 were announced recently and some box art has appeared on the MTV gaming blog. Real or fake, what do you think?

Battlefield 3 community members have also kindly created vector images of the maps seen in the leaked video of the CQB DLC. There have been no names for the new levels yet.

New Battlefield 3 Patch Release Date Hint?

News — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 16:28:00 +0000

On Twitter, DICE’s main community manager, Daniel Matros tweeted about the possibility of a patch release date. The Battlefield 3 patch has been one of the most anticipated items for BF3 gamers, next to DLC. In the tweet, Matros expressed that he hopes that the community will get information concerning the next patch by the end of next week (March 16).

Australian Players Getting A Bit More Love

News — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 20:22:00 +0000

If you’re an Australian player, especially on a console, then you’ve probably experienced some lag with Battlefield 3. Lately however, the DICE team has been working to improve performance for the region and increasing server capacity. The servers will probably also be used for Battlefield 3 server rentals, as was announced earlier today.

Quote

Hello Australia!

Back in October 2011 me and Lars Gustavsson travelled to Sydney as well as the EB Games Show on the Gold Coast where we promised a good and fluent gaming experience for you on the Battlefield. We had learnt a lot of good things from the Alpha and Beta going forward and then we released the game. The server stability in Australia was a bit flaky during the first two weeks, only to improve a lot up until last weekend

I want to let you know that our team over here has been working very hard in order to solve these issues for you. We´ve done numerous improvements and of course, one of them being ramping up our server capacity in Australia. These short-term changes will be rolling out over the comings weeks and some players may notice improvements sooner than others as we work towards our goal. We will keep you updated on our progress. Do please remember that you will always have a line in to the Studio via me so if you encounter anything you wish to talk about or report, let me know on www.twitter.com/zh1nt0.

Thank you for playing our game and being part of this great community!

One Love

/Daniel Matros

www.twitter.com/zh1nt0

New Battlefield 3 DLC Announced (3 Packs)

News — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 16:35:00 +0000

The world focused around Battlefield 3 DLC has been oddly quiet up until today. After months of planned DLC, the community received very little in terms of news and what to expect, but today EA released information concerning three new DLC packs.

Quote

In June, take the battle indoors with our new themed expansion pack Battlefield 3: Close Quarters! This will be followed by all-out vehicle warfare in Battlefield 3: Armored Kill, featuring the biggest map in Battlefield history. Read on for the very first details about these upcoming expansion packs and more.

Battlefield 3: Close Quarters

The first expansion pack, titled “Close Quarters” is expected to be released this coming June. The pack will feature maps focused on close quarters combat, think Grand Bazaar and Operation Metro. There will be some added perks like “high definition destruction”, which in turn provides a highly destructible environment. It will also come with more weapons, assignments, and dog-tags for Battlefield 3.

Quote

We are happy to announce the first details on our June expansion pack Battlefield 3: Close Quarters. As the battlefield moves indoors, we will drop you into frantic and relentless infantry combat where the tight level design and vertical gameplay creates a highly competitive environment.

By introducing high definition destruction, everything from furniture to plaster can be shot to pieces, and rubble and broken pieces will pile up on the floor as the battle rages on. Like all of our themed expansion packs, this is much more than just new maps, as we also include new weapons, Assignments, and dog tags to bring back to the base game — much in the same way as we did for Battlefield 3: Back to Karkand.

Battlefield 3: Armored Kill

Sometime in Fall 2012 is when we’ll see the next DLC pack, Armored Kill. This pack will focus strictly on vehicle combat (land combat). Expect massive maps, endless amounts of vehicles, and tons of Battlefield 3 scenery powered by Frostbite 2. This pack will also bring in the goodies like unlocks, assignments, and dog-tags.

Quote

This fall will see some truly epic all-out vehicle warfare in our third expansion pack, Battlefield 3: Armored Kill. Featuring new drivable tanks, ATV’s, mobile artillery, and more — and to top it off, the biggest map in Battlefield history.

Battlefield 3: End Game

The last piece of DLC for 2012 will be End Game. Nothing is known about this DLC as of now. (Maybe a new game-mode?)

The trailer for Close Quarters will be coming out next week, so keep your eyes here for more information concerning Battlefield 3 DLC. Console players are also getting a new feature, rented servers. Console players will now be able to have their own servers, so playing games with friends and clan-mates will be easier then ever before. PS3 players will also get these Battlefield 3 DLC packs one week early, per an agreement between EA and Sony.

Battlefield 3: Eye of A Sniper Montage

News — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 13:25:00 +0000

No matter how you argue it, the recon class is still a necessary part of Battlefield 3. While some snipers give the recon a bad rap for abusing the MAV or just camping the entire round, there are some really talented shooters out there. One being KrebsCOHO, check out his Battlefield 3 sniper montage below.

Quote

The sniper is awesome, you have only one shot that is the difference between your death or theirs. Enjoy these incredible moments, and credits to my victims for helping make this

Check out KrebsCOHO other BF3 video here.

Inside DICE #1

News — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 18:19:00 +0000

Recently, DICE promised the community more interaction and communication concerning Battlefield 3. DICE has started this by presenting an Inside DICE feature on the Battlefield Blog. This first blog is an introduction of things to come and is from KM Troedsson (DICE’s General Manager). The point of Inside DICE is to interact with Battlefield 3 fans as much as possible, so tell them what you want to see! We’d like to see more information about the weapons in Battlefield 3.

Quote

We are happy to present the brand new “Inside DICE” series! This is where all of our fans will get candid and personal reflections directly from the people working with Battlefield 3 and our expansion packs and updates. First out is DICE General Manager Karl Magnus Troedsson, revealing his thoughts on community transparency and on returning to GDC one year after the big Battlefield 3 presentation.

No Patch In February, But More Stuff In The Future

News — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 00:09:00 +0000

As was expected, there was not a patch released in the month of February for Battlefield 3. Over the past couple of months the community was given many promises towards more features, but these features have yet to be integrated. Last week we were all graced with an extensive rough draft fix-list for Battlefield 3. February is now gone and there was no patch released in February, there still hasn’t been an announcement as towards when this patch will be released either.

Another hot topic concerning the future of Battlefield 3 is DLC. BF3 was supposed to have 3x the amount of DLC as BC2 did (roughly 21 items). Only two items have been released thus far (PWP and B2K). As you can see in the above image, more promised DLC plans, but no announcements.

So we wait…

Battlefield 3: Synchronized [Teaser]

News — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 00:07:00 +0000

Interested in what is sure to be a pretty awesome Battlefield 3 flick? Then check out the teaser for ‘Synchronized’:

Synchronized is a montage that will be featuring multiple stunts performed with the LAV. Once released, this Battlefield 3 montage will eventually be featuring highly synchronized stunts (4 jets flying below the LAV, barrel rolls and more!).
Be sure to stay tuned for this montage which is presented to you by:
http://www.youtube.com/user/Killophile
http://www.youtube.com/user/mashed8

Limit release date: End of March – Beggining of April.

March Madness Bracket – Vote For Sgt. Blackburn

News — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 23:58:00 +0000

Curse and Alienware teamed up for March madness, this competition pits game characters against each other. Sgt. Blackburn made the cut, so make sure you vote for him (I mean would you actually vote for a WoW character over a Battlefield 3 character?!)

Curse said:

Introducing the March Gaming Bracket Challenge!
The March Gaming Bracket Challenge presented by Curse and Alienware is a tournament that pits random video game characters against one another!
Each week in March we will be matching up characters from your favorite Curse Network fansites; from Skyrim to Starcraft, WoW to Minecraft. Who gets through to the next round is up to you since your votes decide who rises up and who falls in this arena!

Enter the giveaway and vote
Not only can you vote for your favorite heroes, you can also enter our weekly Alienware x51 giveaway! Each week we are giving away one x51, so be sure you don’t miss your chance to enter to win!
Vote between today (February 27th) and Friday (March 2nd) to support your favorite characters! Results will be posted Friday.

Round 1 Voting
Check out the bracket and vote below!

S03E01 – Patch Notes

jopeek — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 02:38:56 +0000

Battlefield Podcast is proud to announce its return with Episode 1 of its third season. In this episode Ole, Hee, and Chris discuss the recently released list of changes for the upcoming Battlefield 3 patch.

The audio quality isn’t quite as good as we would like yet, so please excuse us, we’re a little rusty. Please give us feedback and suggestions for future episodes. We hope to return in two week’s time with episode 2.

Show Notes:

Battlelog – Confirmed Fixes and Tweaks so far

Battlefield 3 Community Coordinator Quietly Leaves

News — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 02:00:00 +0000

Seeson Mahathavorn was one of Battlefield 3′s community coordinator (contract) up until recently. Mahathavron has since left the community in a very quiet fashion. Replying to a BF3 question recently, he replied with: “No clue. Not at EA anymore.”

Mahathavron didn’t state when he had ended his duties at EA and didn’t state what he’d be doing next. He was also a key player in organizing the BF3 community event at PAX west this past August. In January core gameplay designer, Alan Kertz also switched away from Battlefield 3.

Back to Karkand Screenshot Beauty

jopeek — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 12:12:32 +0000

With the release of Back to Karkand on the PC, comes it’s true level of beauty. Playing the levels, you really get a sense of Battlefield 2 in a new light. For those of you still waiting to download or to those still considering buying Back to Karkand, here is a batch of screenshots from Wake Island, Gulf of Oman, Sharqi Peninsula and Strike at Karkand to please your appetite.

BF3′s Back to Karkand Launches!

jopeek — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 10:07:07 +0000

That’s right, Back to Karkand has just launched for the PC Platform and Xbox360. The madness is beginning and already the karkand servers are starting to fill up. This is another exciting stepping stone for the battlefield community and be sure to come back tomorrow night for the unveiling of our very own surprise! Through the course of the day we will have our teamspeak server open to the public (IP: Battlefieldo.com) and maybe even a few special guests! In the meantime, head over to battlelog and get pumping in Karkand’s 4 new BF3 maps! Don’t forget to register for our forums.

Here’s the final trailer in the Back to Karkand series!

The “Big Battlefieldo Secret” – Hint #1

jopeek — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:02:47 +0000

Here’s your first hint…

The major announcement will be mid-week. We’re launching our new Website, in conjunction we are going to be giving away Back To Karkand Codes to registered members, sign up now to qualify. We’ll be picking people registered on the site for code give-a-ways.

Very soon… =D

Tomorrow: Back To Karkand + X360 Patch

jopeek — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 17:37:34 +0000

T-Minus 24 hours & counting…

We’re just one day away from the first downloadable content to Battlefield 3 on PC and Xbox 360. PlayStation 3 users have been playing it since last week (LUCKY). There has been an explosion of reviews, and overviews on the Back To Karkand Expansion. The official Battlefield Twitter just posted that tomorrow between 10-11am CET they are performing maintenance on Xbox and PC platforms.

We’ve asked our own Luetin (PS3) to provide us with as much sneak peek footage and overview to Back to Karkand as possible, be sure to watch his video here:

B2k Overview:

Assignments Overview:

F-35B Basic Overview:

Xbox Update:

For all you Xbox Players who have patiently been waiting for a patch, good news is you’ll be getting it tomorrow, here are some of the patch notes that the PS3 received last week, we expect the Xbox 360 notes to be mostly identical.

BATTLEFIELD 3 PLAYSTATION 3 CLIENT UPDATE NOV 30TH

General fixes

• Significant improvements to the Squad Join interface, full details in this earlier blog post
• Removed FIND ME A SQUAD option
• Allow players to join empty Squads alone, thus having 1/4 Squad members
• Change order of options to LEAVE SQUAD, INV A FRIEND, SWITCH TEAM
• Disable Privacy flag when 1 man Squad
• Reset Privacy flag from Private to Public when Squad drops to 1 player
• All occupied Squads will now show up colored blue on the Squad selection screen
• Players who choose not to join Squads will also show up as Blue in the “Not in a Squad” line
• Squads that are currently empty will display as white — if you wish to join an empty Squad, you can choose the first one marked with white text
• Added round duration and ticket summary at end of round screen
• Fixed sound for when climbing ladders
• Fixed and issue with some weapons’ sounds in first person view
• Fixed a swim sound loop error
• You should no longer be able to damage a friendly vehicle when sitting in an open position
• Grenades now drop to ground if you get killed while attempting to throw it
• Spawn protection now should work in Conquest so you no longer should spawn too close to enemies
• You should no longer spawn too close to enemies in TDM and SQDM
• Fix for missing input restriction during intro movie, causing players to potentially fall and die while watching movie if moving controller (or having a controller with a bad stick zone)
• Combat areas on Kharg Island in Rush mode tweaked in order to disallow defenders to access the carrier ship after first base is taken and being able to enter the AA gun
• Fixed a problem with revived players not being able to get suppressed
• Fixed a problem with the camera when being revived in co-op
• Spotting VO now plays when spotting from MAV/EOD bot
• Fixed several issues regarding the kill card, including showing wrong weapons used for the kill
• Fixed that sometimes you would be stuck on a black screen when kicked from server
• Fixed so when a team captures two flags at the same time, the UI does not show wrong owner of the flag
• Fixed a problem where the capture progress bar was shown as friendly when the enemy was capturing
• Fixed a problem with the bipod deploy sound
• Fixed a problem that you could be spawned in with no weapons after being killed while using the EOD bot
• Fixed problems with health bars not displaying health properly when using EOD bots
• Fixed a problem with flickering name tags
• Fixed a problem where you could damage friendly helicopters
• Fixed a problem where you could get stuck in the co-op menu when attempting to join the session twice
• You should now be able to spot explosives
• You should no longer spawn in home base if your selected spawn point is disabled while waiting to spawn (e.g. if your teammate dies right before you are about to spawn)
• Damage from bullets will now continue to cause damage even after the firing user is dead
• Fixed several client crashes
• Fixed a problem where players could get stuck in the join queue
• Fixed the repair icon on the minimap
• Fixed a problem with changing camera on certain vehicles
• Fixed a problem with the grenade indicator when in guided missile mode
• Fixed a problem where the machine could hard lock when joining a public coop game
• Fixed a problem where the headset attached icon would not show up in the UI
• Fixed a problem with the falling antenna on Caspian Border. It should now more instantly kill anyone in its falling path
• Fixed a problem where tank turrets would turn too slow
• Fixed a bug on co-op mission “Exfiltration” where you could end up outside the vehicle and not being able to enter it again, thus blocking the mission
• Fixed a problem where a user can become invulnerable after being resurrected
• Fixed a problem with the M60 reload sound
• Fixed a hang in terrain streaming, causing the user to get stuck on black screen under special circumstances in single player
• Fixed a problem where the enemy would not be able to get a road kill on a user that was using the SOFLAM
• Fixed soldiers disappearing in the mortar kill cam
• Fix for Type88 and MG36 zoom in animation offset when in supported shooting mode (using bipods)

Balance changes

• Increased the damage of helicopter miniguns, AA guns, and jet cannons against infantry
• Increased the damage of helicopter miniguns against jeeps
• Reduced the physics impact of AA guns and jet cannons so players under attack from these weapons no longer should lose control
• Increased the damage of the 44 Magnum slightly
• Increased the range and minimum damage of the .357 Round from the MP412 Rex
• Increased the range of all .45cal and 9mm weapons
• Slightly increased the range of the P90 and MP7 and PDW-R
• Slightly increased the range of the 5.56mm PDW-R and decreased the minimum damage at long range
• Slightly increased the minimum range of the Mk11, SVD, and M39 EMR 7.62mm rifles
• Decreased the maximum damage and maximum range of the G3 and SCAR-H 7.62mm weapons
• Reduced the damage from FIM-92 and SA-18 IGLA missiles against aircraft
• Increased the damage and range of the 40mm BUCK rounds
• Reduced the damage .50cal weapons do against helicopters
• Updated T90 canister shell tweaks to match Abrams canister shells

VGA 2011, Frostbite’s New Game and B2K

jopeek — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 20:40:28 +0000

Last night the Video Game Awards 2011 took place with Battlefield 3 being Nominated for Best PC Game of the Year and Best Shooter of the year. Unfortunately it didn’t win either of the prizes but one game can’t be the victor of everything! If you want to check out the list of nominees and winner, see this page. During the VGA 2011, EA announced it’s newest title, Command and Conquer: Generals 2 which will be making use of DICE’s Frostbite 2 engine. It’s great to see the C&C series coming back with the glory of Frostbite 2. Here is a video teaser of the new C&C:

For the past week, Playstation 3 players have had a chance to g et the Back to Karkand DLC one week early. Now this coming this Tuesday (December 13th, 2011), PC / Xbox360 players will get their hands on. Already reviews have started coming in and it looks like the BF2 revival actually happened. The mainstream gaming sites seem quite pleased as does the PS3 community. Here are a few articles courtesy of the Official Battlefield Blog

IGN: “Back to Karkand Revitalizes Familiar Roads”
Kotaku: “Should You Buy Battlefield 3’s Back to Karkand? Yes.”
Now Gamer review: 9/10
Gamingtruth review: 9.75/10

F-35B (STOVL) Basic overview

jopeek — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 18:36:54 +0000

In this video we take a basic overview at the new fighter jet on Battlefield 3 the F-35B as well as some hints on how to learn to fly and control the aircraft. This Jet allows vertical take off and landing as well as the ability to hover to improve engagement with ground enemies.

Future Balance Updates V2

jopeek — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 18:49:57 +0000

DICE Developer, Alan “Demize99″ Kertz has made a post on battlelog lining Future Balance updates. While none of these are guarenteed to make their way into future updates, it give you an idea what things they are looking at. If there are things you would like to see changed, be sure to head over to the Battlelog forum thread. Here is the complete list:

It’s important to note:
• This list is provided as a way for the Community to give us feedback on potential Balance changes to the game.
• This list is specifically focused on Balance changes. Feature requests and bug fixes are purposefully absent from this list.
• There is no guarantee that any of these Balance changes will make it into a future update at all, nor is this list a guarantee that there will be future updates

Slightly increased the AEK971 recoil.
Slightly increased the ASVAL recoil.
Added Extended Mags to the ASVAL.
Slightly increased the recoil on the M249.
Reduced the recoil of the SKS rifle.
Fixed aimed firing max accuracy on the Pecheneg to be consistent with other LMGs.
Slightly reduced the recoil of the F2000 and restored it to the previous base accuracy.
Semiautomatic and automatic shotguns firing FRAG rounds now do slightly less splash damage.
Increased the damage of the G3, M60, and M240 at close range.
Claymores can now detonate from vehicles and can be used to disable jeeps or kill the passengers in light jeeps. Claymores will not do any damage to heavy vehicles.
Reduced the spot times on C4 and Claymore projectiles from 30 to 15 sec.
The Radio Beacon, Mortar, Mav, EOD bot, T-UGS, and SOFLAM should now be much easier to deploy.
C4 will no longer be detonatable after a player respawns, if the player is revived within 5 seconds he can still detonate his C4.
The player may now have a maximum number of mines which will persist after the player’s death. Deploying more than the maximum of 6 mines will remove a previous mine from the world.
Claymores now also persist through death, the player can have 2 claymores planted.
9x39mm rounds no longer benefit from the Sniper headshot bonus.
Increased the damage of the 9x39mm rounds.
Fixed the AKS74u damage at max range, it was incorrectly higher than other carbines.
Increased the damage of the .357 and .44 magnum rounds at max range.
All semiautomatic and bolt weapons, including all shotgun slugs, now have their maximum damage out to 15m.
Semiautomatic sniper rifles, Assault Rifles, LMGs, and shotgun slugs now have more consistent damage over long range.
Tweaked IRNV to be more consistent across all levels.
Fixed a rendering issue with IRNV view when taking damage.
Tweaked the IRNV zoom times and scope visible areas to be the same across all weapons (some were faster than others).
Fixed the QBU-88 sniper and the L96 IRNV scopes to use the proper aiming reticule.
The spread for Flechette rounds has been reduced slightly on all shotguns.
The spread for buckshot has been reduced on the M1014, DAO-12, and S12k. These weapons have an accuracy advantage over the USAS12 but are not as accurate as the 870.
Semiautomatic weapons will no longer “jam” if the player presses fire faster than the weapon is capable of shooting. Some semi automatic weapons have had their rates of fire adjusted to fit this change.
Slightly reduced the effective blast radius of the RPG, SMAW, and 40mm grenade projectiles against infantry.
Reduced the total number of RPG and SMAW missiles carried from 5 to 4.
Tank rounds will now instantly destroy Jets, Attack Helicopters, and Scout Helicopters.
Fixed a problem when locking on to two nearby targets, the locking should no longer jump rapidly between multiple targets.
Significantly increased the damage of the Javelin and Air to Ground missiles against laser designated targets.
Javelin missiles fired without laser targeting now do more damage to the side and rear of MBTs.
Slightly reduced the locking time of all weapons vs Laser Designated targets.
Increased the locking distance for Jets when locking on laser designated targets.
Slightly reduced the repair speed of the repair tool.
Increased the damage the MBT’s primary weapon does to other main battle tanks.
AA Missiles should no longer kill the pilot instead of the vehicle.
Reduced the damage AA missiles do to jets.
Stinger and IGLA missiles now do 50% damage to Jets, Attack Helicopters, and Scout Helicopters.
Slightly reduced the damage of Jet cannons.
Increased RPG and SMAW damage against aircraft.
Guided Rockets will now only track ground targets, as originally intended.
Reduced the direct damage done by helicopter gunners vs armor.
Helicopter guns should now suppress correctly.
Improved the accuracy of the Mi28 gun to match the AH1 gun.
Increased the direct hit damage of the APFSDS rounds for the IFVs.
Miniguns and Helicopter Gunners now more quickly destroy parked cars.
Increased the power of explosions from cars and other explosive static objects.
Dying from the explosion of a car or other explosive static object should now correctly credit the player who caused the explosion.
Adjusted the F35′s Center of Mass and Lift Engine for more stable, level flight.
Updated the F35 weapon systems to be consistent with the other air craft.
Changed the Kornets to TOW launchers on Wake Island and moved the spawn position of the AAV to a more level position.
Fixed several bugs with air vehicles colliding with objects at high speeds and taking no damage.
Players will no longer receive suicides or team kills if they crash their vehicle (dying is punishment enough).
You can now spot with the EODbot.
Increased the spawn protection time from 1sec to 2sec. The protection will still be immediately canceled as soon as the player moves or shoots.
Spawn protection will no longer be canceled by the player looking around.
Slightly increased the speed at which a player can shoot again after sprinting.
Fixed some situations that would unintentionally make a player unrevivable.
Reduced the black screen fade in time on spawn.

Back to Karkand Overview

jopeek — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 01:01:36 +0000

In this video I give my extended overview of the Battlefield 3 Back to Karkand Expansion released this week. We look at each map and its Conquest and Rush game modes. The Karkand release provides some new and exciting gameplay and brings back some classic Battlefield maps to the BF3 arena.

National ESL Announces Inaugural BF3 Tournament

jopeek — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 23:24:10 +0000

The North American division of the Electronic Sports League, National ESL, has announced the opening of its first Battlefield 3 tournament, the Go4BF3 Cup, to be held this Sunday, December 11th. With no cost to enter, the tournament offers 32 teams the chance to compete in 8v8 Conquest across five maps for a shot at the $100 first place prize. While that sort of money might seem small compared to the larger prize pots for the Alienware Arena and Newegg Wanfest tournaments, ESL’s Go4BF3 cups are unique in that all of the tournament matches take place within a very short span of time (usually only a day or two), and are run on a weekly basis. The European division of ESL is already on it’s fourth Go4BF3 cup since Battlefield 3’s launch with each cup offering cash prizes of 100€ per cup. Even better, ESL also announced that they have just released the newest version of their anti-cheat client, ESL Wire, with fully functional Battlefield 3 support. In their news post announcing the new release, ESL claims that the client is able to detect all known cheats for Battlefield 3.

North American ESL Go4BF3 Cup #1:
Where: http://www.nationalesl.com/us/bf3/go4bf3/dec11/
When: Sunday, December 11th
What: 32 Teams, $100 for the First Place Winner
Cost: Free!

European ESL Go4BF3 Cup #5:
Where: http://www.esl.eu/eu/bf3/go4bf3/cup_4/#/eu/bf3/go4bf3/cup_5/
When: Sunday, December 11th
What: 64 Teams,100€ for the First Place Winner
Cost: Free!

For those who have never competed on ESL before, they have a handy quick-start guide that will walk you through all of the steps needed to get signed up and checked in for the tournament. The guide can be found here. ESL, like most of the BF3 leagues, has banned the IRNV and the tactical lights (on both primary and secondary weapons) from competition.

BF3 Back To Karkand Easter Eggs

jopeek — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 22:55:55 +0000

Back to Karkand: Easter Eggs!

So far… two Easter Eggs have been found in the newest Battlefield 3 DLC “Back To Karkand”. The first is a “Thanks Plate” with a message from DICE, the Battlefield Franchise Developer, which is thanking all the veterans of the Battlefield Franchise. The second is a toy Dinosaur also hidden in the new map Back to Karkand Map “Wake Island”. As many battlefield franchise fans know, the Dino has long been a tease from the development about the possibility of a “Jurassic Mode” which you could battle with or around dinosaurs.

Thanks Plate

Toy Dino

BF3 Commo Rose 2.0 Update Soon

jopeek — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:07:43 +0000

BF3 Commo Rose 2.0 Update Soon

Tomas Danko, VO Producer @ DICE Audio has tweeted a few promising features and announcements about the Commo Rose 2.0 update which we have learned is coming very soon. Features include: + requests/”shouts” from Commo Rose should be heard by all teammates not only local players, and request ammo/medic command. Screenshots of the Twitter conversation below, Enjoy!

Battlelog Update #2

jopeek — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 23:50:55 +0000

Yesterday a huge update came to PC players along with a brand new update to Battlelog. Further improvements have been made to the system and go to show just how dedicated DICE is at taking your feedback for how to improve battlefield 3. Here is the complete list of improvements, courtesy of Battlelog

Server Queue
Last week we silently enabled the server queue again. Joining the server your friends are at is easy! If the server is full, you will simply be put in the queue and automatically joined when a slot becomes available.

Improved Server Browser
The server browser has been equipped with more search options. Such as kill cam, friendly fire and 3D spotting to name a few. We aim to continuously improve it and we’re determined to bring you the most powerful server browser ever seen.

Easier server joining with party
Joining servers with your party has been improved. Instead of setting up your party prior to doing a party join you can now connect asynchronously, without waiting for your friends to ready up.

Country filter
The server browser has also been equipped with the capability of searching for servers by country. This is incredibly useful for those eager to play with perhaps other countrymen or just want to enjoy playing on a server from your favorite country.

Share Battle Reports
You can now share your favorite Battle Reports with your friends on Facebook, Twitter and Google+. Use the share tab at top right of your report. Shared Battle Reports previously required a Battlelog account to be viewed but this limitation is no more.

New icons for navigation
If you look at the new top header you’ll see a new set of icons, providing quick links to various popular sections on the site. Having easy access to your dog tags and stats is always a good thing!

Battlelog Update #2

jopeek — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 23:50:55 +0000

Back to Karkand: Assignments

jopeek — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 00:25:20 +0000

The Back to Karkand DLC is released today on PS3, we look at the new assignments aspect, and what each assignment will unlock for you. Each unlock has a specific set of challenges for you in order to access them.

Wake Island Gameplay Trailer

jopeek — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 15:58:26 +0000

To kick off the launch of Back to Karkand DLC on the PS3 today plus a new PC Client patch, DICE have released another awesome trailer, this time showing off wake island.

Happy Birthday Stadler!

jopeek — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 15:04:23 +0000

Happy B’day Stadler!

Today is a special day for Battlefieldo… Our site was founded nearly a year ago by Erik “Stadler” Zuuring. It all started here on Erik’s Tumbler. Erik has grown Battlefieldo into the largest Battlefield 3 Online Community in just over 4 months of being alive. He steers us staff members in the right direction on development, and has more drive and focus on providing the community with their needs than I have ever seen in any video game I have ever played. Erik is the ultimate community manager, and we honestly wouldn’t have such a great, world leading community site and community without him. Erik has recently also been added as a Battlelog Moderator, and also serves the community on the Battlelog forums. We have some pretty big things on the horizon for our site, and our community following, and I know we all rest easy at night knowing Stadler’s at the helm. Happy Birthday bro, and thank you so much for the sweat, blood, and tears you put into the site, and the community.

On a less serious note: Be sure to check out Stadler’s “Confession” in our staff confession post. =)

Recruiting a Python Developer

jopeek — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 20:48:54 +0000

Over the past few months, we have worked at expanding our network into Battlefield 3, CSGO and now SWTOR. Currently we are looking for a Keen python developer to join our team to help us create a new website application for these gaming websites. As a developer you should feel comfortable working in Python. We have a solid development team already established and will be expanding as the road continues. Currently we are working in a Python based SDK, called Planet framework.

Python Developer Requirements

- Must be Mature (Preferably over 17 Years of Age)
- Excellent coding skills in Python
- Experience in web development
- Strong passion for gaming
- Ability to work in a team environment
- Turning concepts / ideas into functionality

If you feel suited for this position, please send the following information to recruitment [at] Battlefieldo.com

Name:
Nickname:
Age:
Location/Timezone:
Reason for Applying:
What can you bring to BFO:

More Back to Karkand Footage

jopeek — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 19:25:57 +0000

With only one day until Playstation 3 players get a hold of Back to Karkand and a week for PC / Xbox360 users get their hands on it, more gameplay footage has appeared courtesy of Gamespot. The footage shows some more gameplay of the PS3 version of Wake Island and Strike at Karkand. Be advised that the flag size is only for console version. Thanks to Gigab@yt for the headsup!

NewEgg Wanfest Launches $2500 BF3 PC Tournament

jopeek — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 21:25:19 +0000

Just this weekend Newegg Wanfest announced the opening of signups for an online Battlefield 3 tournament that will run from Monday, December 19th, to Sunday, January 8th. Like all Wanfest tournaments, it is free to enter with cash prizes being awarded to the top three teams left standing: $500 for third place, $750 for second place, and a solid $1,250 for the first place team. The format for the tournament is currently listed as 5v5 Squad Rush with each match being determined by best two of three maps. Teams earn points by blowing up M-COM sites with the map winner being determined by who has the most points after playing both attacker and defender.

The tournament tweaks some of the default Squad Rush settings in order to achieve a better competitive balance. The rules note that Mortars are currently disallowed; this is in order to prevent teams from spamming the M-COM site on defense or while protecting it on attacker. Also, each team is limited to only one Assault player at a time. Players can pick Assault kits up off the ground if they come by them but only one player can be spawned in as the Assault “skin” at any one time.

Newegg has a history of running PC tournaments for the Battlefield series with their most recent event being the Summer 2010 Bad Company 2 Squad Rush tournament that had more than 100 teams competing for similar cash prizes. It’s always great to see tournaments for the Battlefield series, but it’s even better when there is money on the line! With this tournament by Newegg and the Alienware Arena event, Battlefield 3 eSports is starting off with a bang. What are you waiting for? Get over and get your team signed up to get in on the action.

This is David “jackelpdw” Dennis, and I’m one of the newest faces here at Battlefieldo. As a long-time competitive Battlefield player, I hope to provide coverage and analysis of the Battlefield 3 competitive scene that will appeal to both the competitors themselves and casual fans of the series. Additionally, for those guys and gals who were always interested in competing but never gave it a shot, I’ll shed light on the who, what, where, when, and why of playing competitively to make it easier for you to get in on the action. I’m stoked to be here, and if you ever have any questions about the competitive BF3 community please feel free to drop me a line on the forums and I’ll be happy to get back to you.

BF3′s PC Client Patch R3 + Server R11 Inbound

jopeek — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 03:10:49 +0000

This week PS3 Players got their large Client Patch, now next week on December 6th, 2011 PC Players will receive a very large Battlefield 3 update. It will be 2GB in size and contain Back to Karkand plus a huge list of changes. All players will be prompted to update around 8:00AM GMT and servers will be updated to R11. The patch comes out just a week before the PC release of Back to Karkand, the First Battlefield 3 DLC. Here is the list of Patch Notes courtesy of DICE’s Mikael Kalms.

Bugfixes

Fixed a problem with spawn timer now showing blue border on startup and lost spawn point
Fixed a problem where player who joined queuing on End of round got spawn screen stuck on screen, but unable to do anything with it untill next round loaded
Fixed a problem where camera would change to 3rd person on killcam when killcam was turned off in server settings
Fixed stat references on several dogtags
Fixed for surveillance ribbon not counting TUGS
Fixed a missing combat area lines on the minimap for Grand Bazaar conquest small
Moved a tank spawn in US base on Caspian Border so it would not be destroyed by a falling tree
Fixed a problem where placing C4 with the russians soldier was playing US faction VO
Fixed a problem where TV guided missiles could be shot into its own helicopter and destroy it
Fixed a problem when attempting to fire lock on weapons without a target
Tweaked the chat, it should now be a bit easier to read
Fixed several vehicles that did not properly shoot rockets and guns towards their predictive sights
Fixed the G17 Supressed Laser not working properly
Added alternate HUD colors to help colorblinds
Added a network interpolation setting. This allows users with good bandwidth reduce latency, but might increase some stuttering. The user can find what works best for his connection by tweaking the slider.
Increased the Spawn protection radius on TDM
Fixed a problem with smoke on land vehicles, Missiles should now miss more often
Fixed a problem where users could end up with IRNV scope in any vehicle
Fixed a problem where player dies if vaulting over a ledge and into water while sprinting
Fixed several crashes and increased general stability
Fixed a problem where the user was unable to revive two players that have the bodies one over the other
Fixed so you can assign an axis and use as a digital input. This makes it possible for the player (on pc) to assign one of the sticks on a gameped to be used for throttle/brake.
Fixed a problem with the Kill camera acting up when suiciding from parachute
Fixed air radar was showing to much. now lasertagged, heatsignature above threshold, enemy missiles and capture points are only visible on air radar
Fixed a problem where the game would enter a technical hang if the user pressed pause menu and tilde at the same time
Fixed a problem where you could get green flashes on screen
You can now reassign cycle weapons
Fixed so the weapon zooms automatically after bipod deploy is gone when using zoom toggle
Fixed a problem where the parachute would stay stuck in air if the owner was killed

Balance Tweaks

Fixed several weapons so they are properly suppressed and hide the player on the minimap when fired.
Tweaked Tactical Light so it is not as blinding over longer ranges.
Tweaked the IRNV scope so it is limited to usage only at close range.
Reduced heat masking effectiveness of Spec Ops Camo.
Fixed a bug where Ammo spec would give additional 40mm grenades instead of Frag spec.
Increased the number of additional 40mm grenades from Frag spec.
Fixed so AT mines only live for 20 seconds after a player dies to prevent infinite mines. (We want to make a different fix in the future, it’s in JIRA).
Increased the Time to Live on sniper caliber rounds to allow extreme distance shots.
Fixed several weapon descriptions, calibers, and fire rates. The weapons themselves have not changed.
Fixed so the M9 and MP443 pistol can be equipped by the opposing faction when it is unlocked at 100 kills.
Fixed Laser Guided Missiles missing their targets if the target is moving too fast.
Reduced the effectiveness of Stealth on Air Vehicles.
Reduced the effectiveness of Beam Scanning for Jets.
Reduced the damage done to Armored Vehicles and Infantry from AA guns.
Increased the damage RPGs and Tank shells do to AA vehicles.
Slightly decreased the accuracy for all weapons on fully automatic, burst fire is now preferable at mid to long range.
Increased the effective accuracy of long bursts for LMGs when using a bipod.
Slightly increased the range of the 44magnum bullets.
Increased the close range damage of 4.6x30mm and 5.7x28mm bullets.
Increased the reload time of the Mortar from 3.5sec to 4.8sec and increased the time it takes before a shell hits the ground.
Reduced the aimed accuracy bonus given by a Suppressor for the MP7, P90, PP2000, PP-19, and UMP45.
Increased the range and FOV for designating targets with the SOFLAM and vehicle Laser Designators.
Decreased the effectiveness of 12g FRAG ammo when equipped on semi-automatic and automatic shotguns.
Slightly Increased the power of Fighter Jet Cannons against all vehicle targets, especially Helicopters.
Decreased the power of Miniguns against Jets and Helicopters.
Increased the power of Stingers against Jets.
Flares reload times for Jets and Helicopter Gunners have been increased.
Tweaked the AN94 so its burst fire better conveys the real world advantage offered by this weapon.
Added Single Shot to the AN94 as an available fire mode.
Slightly increased the recoil on the M416 and removed the Burst Fire mode (this weapon incorrectly had burst fire, which was not authentic).
Tweaked the spawns for TDM on Kharg Island, Grand Bazaar, Caspian Border, Seine Crossing, Operation Firestorm, Damavand Peak and Noshahar Canals
Moved a tank spawn in US base on Caspian Border so it would not be destroyed by a falling tree
Tweaked the Gas station Capture area on Conquest on Caspian Border
Tweaked the max vehicle height on Noshahar Canals
via Battlelog

Know your unlocks: Squad Specializations

jopeek — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 01:07:23 +0000

In this episode we look at the squad specializations what they do how best to use them, and how to avoid not giving your squad and team the full benefit of your specialization perks. These upgrades can make a huge difference to how your gameplay turns out so make sure always to use them to their full potential and change them to suit different games and environments.

Back to Karkand Release Date Announced

jopeek — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 17:39:26 +0000

EA just announced that the first DLC for BF3, Back to Karkand will be released for the PS3 next week on December the 6th. PC and Xbox 360 Users will have to wait another week, until Decemeber the 13th, to get their hands on the DLC which introduces the most popular Battlefield multiplayer maps with enhanced levels of destruction, including Strike at Karkand, Wake Island, Gulf of Oman and Sharqi Peninsula.

BATTLEFIELD 3 TAKES THE FIGHT BACK TO KARKAND

First Expansion Pack for EA’s Award-Winning Shooter Coming December 6th to PlayStation 3, December 13th to Xbox 360 and PC

DICE, an Electronic Arts Inc. studio (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced that Battlefield 3™: Back to Karkand, the first digital expansion pack for the critically acclaimed Battlefield 3, will be available December 6th for download on the PlayStation®Network and December 13th on Xbox LIVE® Marketplace and the PC. Building on the biggest launch in EA history, Battlefield 3: Back to Karkand is a full-feature digital expansion pack giving gamers more of the explosive multiplayer that Joystiq.com called “mesmerizing,” and gameplay that has won over 60 industry awards and continues to delight gamers across the globe in what Seth Schiesel of The New York Times declares, “the most visually realistic shooter on the market.”

Utilizing the power of Frostbite™ 2, the Back to Karkand expansion pack remasters four of the most popular Battlefield multiplayer maps in the franchise’s history all with enhanced levels of destruction, including Strike at Karkand, Wake Island, Gulf of Oman and Sharqi Peninsula. In addition to these four new maps , Battlefield 3: Back to Karkand marks the return of the classic Conquest Assault mode from Battlefield 2™. A twist on the beloved Conquest mode, Conquest Assault starts one team in command of all control points on the map while the opposing team must assault and take the flags over in order to stop their tickets from bleeding down to zero. Battlefield 3: Back to Karkand also features three new vehicles, ten newweapons, five new dog tags, five new achievements/trophies and an added layer of persistence where players complete assignments to unlock items and earn rewards.

“Free for those that pre-ordered or purchased the Limited Edition of Battlefield 3, Back to Karkand is another way for us to say thanks to our fans and show our continued support for the game,” said Patrick Soderlund, Executive Vice President of the EA Games Label. “The launch of Battlefield 3 was only the beginning as we vow to keep the game alive with additional content and gameplay improvements in the months ahead. We’re excited to recreate and share some new Battlefield moments on these beloved maps that only Battlefield games can provide.”

Available exclusively for one week on the PlayStation Network, Battlefield 3: Back to Karkand will be available December 6th at no extra charge* or for £11.99. The expansion pack will be available on December 13th for £11.99 on PC at Origin.com or for 1200 MS points on Xbox LIVE Marketplace. Battlefield fans can purchase merchandise online at the all-new DICE store at www.store.dice.se. For the latest news on Battlefield please visit http://www.facebook.com/battlefield, follow us on Twitter® at www.twitter.com/battlefield or sign up for the official Battlefield newsletter at www.battlefield.com.

ROFLMAO : BF3

jopeek — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 19:04:18 +0000

Series Introduction:

We all know just how hilarious and entertaining the gaming community can be with the endless supply of original videos and parodies. So we’re going to be looking out for the funniest Battlefield 3 Videos to share with you in a new series “ROFLMAO” For each episode we’ll have a poll on our forums for you to vote on which you feel like was the most hilarious video. We’ll then feature all the videos that have won from every episode in this season and host a “Best Of: ROFLMAO Season 1″ finale. Looking forward to showcasing the best original content the BF3 Community has to offer.

Season 1 – Episode 1 — 12/1/11

Video 1:

Battlefield 3: Spaceship Easter Egg (Battlefield 3 Machinima)

Video 2:

The “N” Word

Video 3:

Battlefield 3 Trolling dem Noobs

Know your unlocks: MAV

jopeek — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:06:32 +0000

Ever wondered what that buzzing noise above you in BF3 was? No your speakers aren’t broken its an MAV. In our latest know your unlocks video we take a look at the role of the MAV and when it can be a benefit to you and your team. When used properly you can still gain a respectable score at the end of the round whilst providing an invaluable support to your team. We follow up with an extra commentary on the rest of the MAV round. Follow the link at the end of this video to check it out.

Gulf of Oman HD Screencaps

jopeek — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 01:53:06 +0000

Recently, we got to feast our eyes upon the new Back to Karkand trailer showing off the sandy beaches and construction sites of Gulf of Oman in frostbite 2. Now, we’ve taken captures from the trailer in High res to let you see the details in it’s full beauty.

FXAA Injector may result in PB Kicks/Bans

jopeek — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 18:31:49 +0000

Recently there was a post on the EAUK Forums about a FXAA Injector that improves the visuals in Battlefield 3 without taking up any extra resources. Thanks to a tweet to a Evenbalance Developer, it appears as though using this fix may get you kicked or even banned from Punkbuster enabled servers. Like most Anti-Cheat software, your files are usually verified by a server to ensure you are not using modified files. Even if the game may look better, we advise at this point not to use it until their is more of an official word on this issue. We’ll keep you posted on this issue as more gets released.

Happy Birthday JRB!

jopeek — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:32:20 +0000

Baked up a special cake for this Scallywag, yarrr!

It’s the season of Birthday’s here at Battlefieldo and today it’s our very own, JRB’s birthday! He is one of our developers / Administrators on the BFO Staff and is responsible for some amazing contributions to our site . Before BF3′s release he put together the Battlefieldo Widget and he is continuing to brew up some awesomeness behinds the scenes. JRB basically, is da man. Since today is his Birthday, we encourage you to join his Pirate Fan club on Battlelog and spend the day YARRING!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JRB!

DICE Wants your feedback – Future Balance Updates

jopeek — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 16:17:45 +0000

Future Balance Updates Feedback

DICE has just published a thread on the Battlelog forums as place where you can post your feedback on future balance changes to the game. This is some amazing stuff and it’s awesome to see DICE so proactively engaged in the community to take the time to collect feedback in this nature. Post up your future balance requests and ideas, and please remember to keep it as productive and informative as possible.

Src: http://battlelog.battlefield.com/bf3/forum/threadview/2832654489491100463/

Back To Karkand – Are You Excited?

jopeek — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:38:59 +0000

Back To Karkand is around the corner…

And we’re all very excited about some of the amazing features DICE is dropping into our lap just 2 months after the game release like a Christmas present under the tree that you cannot wait to open. (<3 u DICE) We’ve started a community poll to figure out just what features you are most excited about. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook, and stay tuned to all the details as they develop!

Check out the Official Gameplay Footage and the Gulf of Oman trailer as well.

The Sir Community – BF3 Prologue

jopeek — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 01:53:59 +0000

If you remember the Sir Community from Battlefield 2 days, you’ll be pleased to know they are back at it and here comes a little preview of their upcoming stunt videos. Great to see and we personally can’t wait to see what stunts these tricksters come up with. If you are interested in learning more about the Sir Community or getting involved with their crew, Visit their site for more information. In the meantime check out this awesome video!

BF3 Playstation 3 Client Patch Inbound

jopeek — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 00:36:28 +0000

Last week, PC Players recieved the first major Patch release for Battlefield 3. Looks like Playstation 3 users are next and is it ever a huge update. Tons of fixes, weapon changes, UI adjustments, etc. This Playstation 3 patch is to be deployed on November 30th at 09:00 CET / 3:00AM EST and will take a total time of 3 HOURS. Here is the complete list of changes to be coming in this new update.

BATTLEFIELD 3 PLAYSTATION 3 CLIENT UPDATE NOV 30TH

General fixes

Balance changes

via Battlelog

BF3′s Back to Karkand Release Date

jopeek — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 20:45:20 +0000

According to the Asia Playstation Store, it looks as though Back to Karkand will be released on the Playstation 3 on December 7th, 2011. We know that the new DLC will be coming a week earlier to the Playstation 3, so that means that we can expect to see the PC / Xbox360 version on December 14th, 2011. With only one more week until PS3 players and 2 weeks till the rest of us get our hands on this DLC, it’s great to see it is just around the corner. In other Back to Karkand news, a video showing off gameplay of Wake Island has been released.

UPDATE: To our knowledge, the US/EU PSN Store updates on Tuesday, which is December 6th. Meaning it would likely be released on that day.

Thanks to the EAUK Forums for the heads up

Back to Karkand – Wake Island Footage

jopeek — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 17:05:18 +0000

Here it is, the very first Footage from BF3′s Wake Island Map, coming with the Back to Karkand DLC in December. The commentary in the Video is german, here’s a breakdown of the Commentary in the Video:

- Wake Island is a “U”-shaped Island. (lol)
- US Reinforcements spawn on a Carrier.
- 2 new US Spawnzones at both Shores.
- 3 Flags! (Airfield, Southbeach, Northbeach)
- No WW2 Bunkers! Complete “modern” re-design!

Know Your Unlocks: Smoke

jopeek — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 01:58:50 +0000

Smoke is a massively underused tool in Battlefield 3, in this video we look at how it can be a benefit to you and to your team in a variety of situations. Smoke can allow you to break through potentially difficult situations and is one of the most versatile pieces of kit for you to use in Battlefield.

New B2K Trailer Gulf of Oman

jopeek — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:10:57 +0000

EA just released a new Back to Karkand Trailer showing some Gulf of Oman Gameplay.

How to Enable Stereoscopic 3D

jopeek — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 20:31:52 +0000

Do you have the gear to play games in 3D but wondering how to enable it with Battlefield 3? Well thanks to the new patch and the Official Battlefield Blog, here is a guide on how to enable Stereoscopic 3D mode on both Nvidia and ATI Devices.

With the latest PC update for Battlefield 3 we now support Stereoscopic 3D on supported hardware. Stereoscopic 3D adds another dimension to your gameplay and lets you experience the battlefield with added depth perception. See below for how to enable this new feature.

We have added support for Stereoscopic 3D in the Frostbite 2 engine by rendering each frame twice (once for each eye). This gives us full control of how our game looks in 3D, and lets us create an even more visceral experience for the player. Rendering each frame twice is quite performance heavy, though, so take that into consideration if you want to play with Stereoscopic 3D enabled. To improve performance, you may want to reduce graphics quality or resolution compared to what you normally would use when playing without Stereoscopic 3D. Using a multi GPU setup will also improve performance, as each GPU can share the work load.

NVIDIA 3D Vision technology
NVIDIA 3D Vision is a combination of 3D Vision wireless glasses and 3D Vision Ready monitors. You can look for the 3D Vision Ready icon on your monitor, or check this page to find out if your monitor and GeForce GPU support Stereoscopic 3D.

Enable 3D Vision by going to the NVIDIA control panel, and in the Stereoscopic 3D tab, make sure “Enable stereoscopic 3D” is set. Battlefield 3 will use the standard 3D Vision settings and hotkeys. Adjust the amount of depth effect using the scroll wheel on the 3D Vision IR emitter or by using the keyboard shortcuts. The default shortcuts are CTRL-F4 to increase the depth, and CTRL-F3 to decrease the depth. You can customize these shortcuts in the Stereoscopic 3D control panel.

AMD HD3D
See this page to find out if your monitor and Radeon GPU support Stereoscopic 3D.

Enable HD3D by starting Battlefield 3 and go into the options menu. In the video options tab, change STEREOSCOPIC 3D to ON. Adjust the depth using the slider in the menu.

via Battlefield Blog

“The Mechanics” Engineer Montage

jopeek — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 20:08:52 +0000

Our very own Grizzle is working on a Engineer montage video featuring some of the best Battlefield 3 Engineer gameplay footage. Think you have what it takes to show off your engineer skills? You can submit your video clips to Grizzle and if it’s l33t enough, expect to see it in the upcoming release of “The Mechanics”. Submit links to your video via email to grizzlebf [at] yahoo.com. In the meantime, check out the trailer for it!

Alienware Arena Launches BF3 Tournament

jopeek — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 20:03:42 +0000

Looking to play competitively with Battlefield 3? Well here is a new PC tournament starting up from Alienware arena in participation with CEVO, a group dedicated to organizing tournaments. The tournament will be starting this thursday, December 1st. If you’re interested in playing, be sure to register as soon as you can! Go here to get more information about the Tournament. Be advised that this is only open to residents of Canada, USA and Mexico

Join today and battle your way to the top of the ladder. The top 32 teams at the end of the Winter Season will be eligible to join the Invitational Tournament. Play begins December 1, register today!

The Alienware Arena Battlegrounds programs allows teams to play as much as they want around their own schedule. Join and play with your friends in 8v8 Conquest competition for your chance at $2,000 in prizes in the Invitational Tournament.

Registration:Open Now!
Play Begins: December 1, 2011
Winter Season Ends: January 29, 2012
Invitational Tournament (Top 32 Teams): February 4 – February 15, 2012
Invitational Tournament Prizes: $2,000

Become a part of Alienware Arena’s Battlefield 3 community and stay tuned for the launch of the game’s page! Featuring video and instructional guides, it will change the way you play the game.